


The Story of Eternity

by sunshine_kitcat (moonkevin)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Angst, Cute, Fae & Fairies, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, I Tried, It's really long and kind of unnecessary but yknow what, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Side Story, Story within a Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21566062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonkevin/pseuds/sunshine_kitcat
Summary: At first, there was nothing. A whole lot of nothing, but nothing, nonetheless. Then from that nothing, the first being appeared. It looked around at the vast emptiness and frowned. It didn’t like nothingness, so it decided to do something. The nothingness started to change, vast darkness shifting slowly to form shapes. Suddenly, Nothing became Something.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Wong Kun Hang | Hendery, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Qian Kun, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Taeyong/Nakamoto Yuta, Liu Yang Yang/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun, Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Speedy_18](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Speedy_18/gifts).



> I owe this entire thing to my beta, because no way in hell would I have even gotten to chapter 3 without her. You're a hero bit <3

“But mom! I’m 14! I don’t need a babysitter!” Joohyun shakes her head, clearly not budging. Jisung crosses his arms and sticks out his bottom lip, an action that was definitely childish, but his other mom is always weak for it.

“C’mon Joo, I’m sure he’ll be fine,"

“No Seungwan! He nearly burned down the kitchen last time, and that was two hours. We’ll be gone for the next nine days and we can’t trust Jisung with that!” Seungwan bites her lips, but Jisung can see her silently agree. Turning to him, she smiles apologetically.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine with Taeil, honey. He’s an old friend with a big enough apartment, and he isn’t THAT boring," Jisung wrinkles his nose but doesn’t argue. He knows it’s useless anyway.

In his defence, Taeil shows up at the door with Grandpa Clothes and a smile that screams ‘boring old man’. His voice is somewhat nice to listen to, if Jisung had to admit, and the only thing on his tiny body that doesn’t scream ‘ancient’ is his orange locks.  _ Apparently, he thinks hair dye will win me over. Try harder,  _ Jisung thinks, and internally scoffs.

“Jisung, meet Taeil; he’ll be your babysitter for the next few weeks," Taeil smiles brighter and takes his suitcase.

“Hi Jisung! Do you want cookies? I made some for you inside," Jisung’s eyes light up, and suddenly the next nine days don’t seem so bad.

Fast forward forty minutes, and the pair are sitting on Taeil’s couch, Jisung’s stuff fully unpacked. If Jisung cared, he might’ve questioned how fast they unpacked. Taeil’s apartment seems to have a little bit too many... weird magic-like instances. Jisung only questions it when he sits down on the couch noting how impossibly warm the lighting is at noon. The lights aren’t on, and Jisung swears that the oven hasn’t been used ever. There were no boxes of cookies either, so Jisung racks his brain for an explanation of the deliciously warm and lovely treat he was eating. A near forest of plants decorate the apartment, and Jisung swears he saw floating cups watering them. The dog doesn’t help either, eyes way too intelligent and warm as it helps drag his (admittedly, light) suitcase to the room he was staying over in. The dog had a small tag on its collar, reading an English name that Jisung makes out to be “Johnny”. He wants to ask, but the last time he asked an old lady why her cat was called Bed, she snapped at him rather scarily. Jisung doesn’t quite want to ask now.

“So... um... do you live alone Taeil-ssi?” Jisung asks after settling in. Taeil puts his book down and smiles at the boy. Add another thing to the weird list, Taeil smiles too often. And way too fatherly, too. Johnny leaps into Taeil’s lap and the elder starts petting him.

“Please, call me hyung. I’m not THAT old," Jisung nods blindly, and Johnny makes a noise that resembles a scoff. If dogs could scoff, that is.

“As for your question, I don’t live alone, actually. I have Johnny here with me. He’s good company really," As if the dog could understand him, it leans upwards and licks Taeil’s face gently. The pure size difference is odd though, seeing as Johnny resembles one of those big German dogs. Jisung hums out a response and bites down on his cookie. Taeil finally takes his eyes off Johnny and looks over at Jisung again. 

“I don’t do much around here really, so if you want to go play on your computer or something, it’ll be-“ Johnny barks, cutting Taeil short. The elder glares at the dog on him and they argue silently before Taeil seems to relent. Jisung raises an eyebrow as the orange-haired man rolls his eye.

“Fine. Your moms told me to entertain you and keep you away from your computer, so I guess we’re doing this," Taeil shoves Johnny off and waves his hand. The lights turn off and the warm light switches to faint lights from candles on the table. Which weren’t there before.

What. The. Fuck.

“H-hey! W-what are you-“

“Oh shhh! Let Il-ie continue! This is the coolest part!” Jisung whips his head and sees Johnny grin. Did the dog just-

“Yeah, I can talk, now shh," Taeil groans and throws his book at the dog.

“Shut up or I’m forcing you to human form," Johnny gasps.

“You wouldn’t dare,"

“I can and I will,"

Jisung knew he should’ve tried harder to argue.

“Before you freak out too much, let me explain," Taeil snaps him out of his daze, apologetic eyes calming Jisung for some reason.

“Please,” Jisung responds, weirded out but kind of amazed. Small, purple butterflies suddenly appear out of nowhere and Jisung is amazed by their beauty as they swarm the room. As the last one falls in place, they seem to change into a blueish-purple haze. Two cushions sit in the middle of this room, a plate of cookies residing between them. Taeil grabs his hand and taps Johnny’s head. The dog shifts, and suddenly, the dog turns into a gigantic beanpole of a man. Taeil looks impossibly smaller next to him and Jisung gapes. Did the dog just become a human?

“Let me tell you a story, Park Jisung," Taeil speaks loudly. Jisung looks at him, confused.

“That’s not my last name,"

“True, but it was your birth last name. Bae is your given last name," Jisung widens his eyes.

“I’m adopted?” Taeil wrinkles his nose.

“Not exactly. Just... listen," Taeil tries. Johnny snickers, evidently satisfied. Taeil looks up and glares at him. Returning to Jisung, the weird-magic-dude continues.

“700 billion years ago, the world came into existence..,"

-

At first, there was nothing. A whole lot of nothing, but nothing, nonetheless. Then from that nothing, the first being appeared. It looked around at the vast emptiness and frowned. It didn’t like nothingness, so it decided to do something. The nothingness started to change, vast darkness shifting slowly to form shapes. Suddenly, Nothing became Something. 

The being smiled proudly as it watched nothingness explode and form rocks. The rocks collided with each other, creating visual symphonies as stars came into existence. The being picked out one of these stars, and noticed the rocks that were circling it. It smiled as it found the perfect rock. Not too hot, and not too cold. As it settled into this new something, it noticed the bright stars spit out red hot blasts. Fearing these blasts, which it called ‘flames’, would destroy all of what it had created, the being pulled the blasts together and shaped a creature. The very first creature. 

The most sensitive flames, which would change colour as you touched them, came together and formed what the being called a ‘snout’. The biggest pieces came together and created two big, flat pieces the being named ‘wings. Moving the other pieces together, it made a ‘tail’, four ‘legs’, twenty ‘talons’ and a large ‘body’. Satisfied with its creation, the being brought his creature home to its rock. The creature started to expand and contract, and its ‘eyes’ fluttered. The being became excited, and he named the action ‘breathing’, while deciding to call the creature a ‘dragon’. The dragon stood up after a while, and it stared at the being.

“Who are you?” It snarled, making the first sound in the entire universe. The being became more excited, and it opened the part of it that the dragon seemed to be making sounds from, but nothing came out. Frustrated, it pouted. Sensing the problem, the dragon stomps on the ground, and suddenly, things from space started to pull towards home. The being gapes, a part of it suddenly feeling vitalized. It called this next discovery ‘air’ and tries to speak again.

“A-air," It says, simply. Evidently satisfied, the dragon spreads its wings and flies off.

“H-hey!” The being yells, the sounds coming out of it shocking itself. The dragon’s wings flap, creating gusts of air, and the being named this ‘wind’. Strange outreaches of rocks blocks this wind from circling, and the being calls them ‘mountains’.

Looking at the dragon, the being smiles, an odd feeling it calls ‘happiness’ pooling at its form. It vows to create more, learn more and protect all of this with its new friend.

-

“Wow... That’s cool," Jisung gapes. Taeil laughs and Johnny ruffles his hair.

“It gets cooler, buddy. Just listen," 

Jisung nods blindly, letting Taeil continue.

-

After a while, the Earth started to become what we know it as today. Trees grew into forests, water pooled together to make oceans, and mountains mark of sections of the world. Animals started to roam everywhere, and the first human was made. The being watches with his dragon companion as the humans develop cultures and livelihoods. It gave itself a name, and gives the dragon a name too, as more dragons are made. None of them are quite like the original one though, the being muses.

As if on cue, the dragon starts roaring, forming more and more landforms, letting the humans find their way around their new world. The being smiles, walking from civilization to civilization to learn of their cultures and gather stories. It calls itself a ‘he’, under a different name every civilization to blend in. The large dragon shifts too, becoming a large, domesticated version of a wolf. The being calls the creature a ‘dog’ and they travel everywhere together. Stories are told and forgotten, cultures rise and fall. Humans start exploring their new home more, and the dragon thrives in the stories the humans make.

“If only they knew our real names,"

“That’s for us to know, and for them to find out, Johnny,"

-

“Wait wait wait wait, what?” Jisung starts rambling. He whips his head at Johnny and gapes.

“You’re the dragon?” Johnny laughs and nods.

“The one and only," Jisung rubs his temple. What the fuck? And his moms know them... enough to know this? And what about him? What the hell?

“Wait a second. Are you..," he points to Taeil. Taeil chuckles and grins.

“The primordial being? Yes,"

“Oh my god, you are hella old hyung! Wait a second, hyung isn’t enough! I can’t call you hyung!”

“You’re fine Jisung. All us immortals ignore age,"

“Wait... us?!” Taeil laughs.

“Yes, us,"

-

The world gets pretty cramped after a while, and Taeil decides that it’s time to find another rock like this to explore again. Johnny takes him flying, and they visit another rock like the one back home. Except, this one had creatures on it that Taeil was pretty sure he didn’t create. These creatures were beautiful and their world was the same. Tall trees and large oceans gleam infinitely, and the planet was filled to the brim with raw magic. Taeil and Johnny stay with these creatures, who call themselves faeries. The faeries welcome them into their lives, and Taeil finds out about concepts he never knew about. His humans had them, but they couldn’t teach it to Taeil. The faeries, however, guided him through it. Love was the first one, and Taeil absolutely enjoyed it. One by one, Taeil learns everything, before realizing something.

He might have been in love.

-

“Might have? Come on Il-ah, you were whipped,"

“Don’t interrupt! And no, it wasn’t that bad!”

“Not that bad? You created the world for me Il," Johnny teases. Taeil flushes red and scrunches up his nose.

“Shut up,"

Jisung giggles, he was getting worried for Taeil if he’d been single for the past 700 billion years.

-

In summary, Taeil found love, and not a moment too late.

The world of the faeries was in chaos. Their sun was about to explode, and there was nothing they could do about it. As a last effort, the faeries gave Taeil an egg.

“Take this,” they said, “and grow the last of our kind. Create a world of magic for him, please. Swear on your life you will find a home for him," Johnny takes the egg in his arms and nods. Taeil gulps but agrees. They flee and watch as the world behind explodes. The beautiful world disappears, and Taeil screams internally. The cold vacuum of space sucks away every last trace of their star and Taeil wipes away a stray tear.

He will find a home for this child, even if he didn’t have the faintest idea about nurturing a single life.

-

“But you created the world!” Jisung exclaims. Taeil flushes in embarrassment and Johnny laughs.

“It’s not the same thing Jisung. It’s like giving the child food and water and telling them to eat. It doesn’t work. You have to teach it to take the food into its mouth and then teach it to chew before swallowing," Johnny explains. Jisung nods, understanding. 

“So what did you do?” He asks. The illusion of the world they’ve been sitting in disappears, and Jisung suddenly misses the life-like simulator. Seeing the world from the comfort of your couch, literally. Taeil flushes again, while Johnny puffs his chest in pride.

“He created magical species, to make an environment for the child, and then created more creatures. Afterwards, there were a whole bunch of issues but it worked out after one or two millennias, and the child was given to two witches," Johnny explains. Taeil buries his face in his hands.

“Please don’t remind me,"

“You’re telling him this over the next eight days? What’s the problem?”

“Ignorance is bliss, Johnny. Please stop,"

Jisung hums thoughtfully.

“Who were the witches?” Taeil looks up and meets his eyes.

“Professionally, Irene and Wendy. Privately, Joohyun and Seungwan," The elder explains.

Wait, what!?

“Taeil! Not that forward!”

“‘M tired okay? Let me live~” Taeil whines as Johnny pulls him into a hug and rolls his eyes. 

“Don’t freak out please?” The dragon-in-human-form pleads Jisung. The boy (Faerie? No, boy for now) nods shakily, but screams internally. He’s a faerie? The last one?

“The good news is, Taeil used your DNA structure to reconstruct your one other person of your race, so you’re not alone. However, there’s a lot of things you need to know before we can send you back into the mess that is happening right now," Johnny says, large hands rubbing Taeil’s back as the other yawns. Primordial beings can get tired, apparently.

“But time is running out," Johnny warns. “Taeil’s magic is finally taking a toll on him and for me too. We were going to wait until you’re 18 and ease you in, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The next 8 days is like a really big history lesson, so you can understand what you need to do once you’re in the world," Jisung gapes for the millionth time today and mumbles out a question. Johnny cocks his head in confusion.

“What was that?”

“Are you guys like, dying?” Jisung speaks up, eyes wide as saucepans. Johnny smiles sadly.

“Not quite. It’s like a long nap. We’ll be back after a few centuries,"

“A few CENTURIES?!” 

“You’re immortal. It won’t be that long,"

Jisung nods numbly, brain whirring at a million miles an hour. Taeil looks at him sadly.

“Go to sleep Sungie, I’ll tell you more tomorrow,"

Well, summer just got REAL interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hyung. If you were travelling around with magic and what-not, then was all the mythology about you guys?” Taeil glances away from the chopping board and sees Jisung looking at him curiously. Johnny’s on the floor, practically dying from a good belly rub by the faerie. The elder put his knife down and whipped up some magic to continue dinner. Moving across the house, he sat next to Jisung and ruffled Johnny’s fur with the younger.

“Not all of them. Humans have a great imagination, but a lot of creation stories were made by yours truly," Jisung nodded, accepting the answer. Johnny writhed free from their hands and stuck his snout into the air, sniffing. He shifted to human form and picked Jisung up in his arms.

“Storytime after dinner! Food is always top priority!” Taeil laughs. Jisung took a whiff of the air and immediately agreed, and Taeil can only imagine how well the younger boy will enjoy Taeyong’s food.

-

When the being and his dragon returned home, the first thing they did was create magic. Using their knowledge of the other world, they developed a constant flow of energy where magic could be tapped from. Soon after, Johnny dug up an island in the middle of the ocean, as a source of the magic, and Taeil grew a forest to harness the energy. Tall, glowing trees lined the forest, and the wildlife were dashes of neon colours, dancing in the constant cool breeze. The lagoon was filled to the brim with fish, bathing in the magical energy leaking out of the island. In order to shield the island from any harm, large mountains shielded the island as storms raged outside. A constant storm that would send anyone and everyone who wasn’t a magical being right back out, and Taeil made sure of that. He and Johnny travelled the world again, telling stories of magic and mystic, in hopes of creating a world where the energy can be used just like the faeries did.

They were never more wrong.

People started to try and harness this magic to their advantage, but it always proved to be too powerful. Primordial explosions of raw magic destroyed civilizations, and almost all attempts to use it ended catastrophically. Fearing the worst, they locked up the magic for good, determined to create a different race that could harness this power. 

-

“Why couldn’t people handle the magic?” Jisung asked. Johnny ruffles his hair from the younger’s perch on his lap, and Taeil waves his hand to pull back to the scene where a large city on the ocean sunk.

“The faerie’s magic is muted, because the energy levels that they could access from us was little. Since we lived on Earth, that meant way too much energy is in the magic here," Taeil explains. Jisung nods in understanding then lights up.

“So did you make more faeries?”

Taeil smiles, but shakes his head.

“Not quite, and not yet,"

-

That was the first time Taeil learnt about balance. When he set off on his mission to make the world one with magic, he had hoped it would possible for everyone to possess the same amount of magic, in order for there to be no boundaries or war like what happened with the faeries. 

They succeeded, in a way, and let the creatures into the world, hoping to spread magic in a subtle way throughout the land.

Two of the first creatures, graceful nine-tailed foxes with silver coats of fur, found a way to the mainland. They were twins of sorts, but created by two different magic. One harnessed the power of destruction, while the other sprung from the powers of illusions. The first fox, who called himself Yuta, fell in love with the land he found, while his companion detested it. Yuta knew he couldn’t wander around his newfound island without a disguise, or questions would be raised. So he shed his fox skin and transformed into a beautiful young man, with strange purple hair and begged his fox companion to journey in this new world with him. The second fox, whose name was Taeyong, knew that the journey was doomed in one way or another, but hoped to negate the damage. So he agreed, and shed his skin too. His human form was similar to his brethren, except his hair was a bright shade of red.

Together, they lived on the island of Japan for three centuries, falling in and out of love with its culture, and created stories and myths for the people there. Things were so good, it’s hard to imagine how things could go wrong, Taeyong thought. Maybe he was wrong initially, and they’d be fine.

Of course, everything went wrong pretty soon after that.

-

Jisung stares at the image all around him. Mt. Fuji, in all its glory, with forests of cherry blossoms everywhere. Sensing his amazement, Taeil spins the room around. Johnny whistles loudly, and Jisung turns his head in Johnny’s gaze’s direction. Two absolutely breathtaking young men sit side by side on a riverbank, playfully splashing water at each other. If Jisung didn’t know better, he might’ve assumed they were teenagers. A mix of purple and red swirls around the room’s spherical walls, and Jisung feels his heart racing for some reason.

“Hold on tight Jisung, this part gets wild,"

Jisung grips Johnny’s arm tightly and watches as the pictures start to move. Taeil scoots next to him, and Jisung leans into him. To his amazement, the picture starts to move. 

“I’ll let them tell their own story,"

-

One day, as Yuta and Taeyong play around in the nearby stream, they hear humans approach the local shrine.

“Let’s watch them! Come on Yongie~” Yuta coaxes, trying to convince his friend. Taeyong eyes the humans suspiciously. Two men with large fishing nets and a beautiful girl holding a basket of offerings.

“I don’t know Yukkuri... they seem dangerous," Yuta rolls his eyes.

“As if. We’re creatures of magic! What could possibly happen?”

So they go to the shrine, shifting into regal and peasant clothes. The group of humans were doing their offerings now, and Taeyong and Yuta easily sneak into the shrine. Local villagers visit it all the time, asking for the local spirit to bless them and their crops. In reality, it was Taeyong who truly helped them, if he deemed them worthy. More often than not, the issue just required him to ask weather spirits to lay off their fun. He wasn’t popular, but the locals and their delicious gifts always made up for it.

“Are you gonna help this one?” Yuta whispers, and Taeyong eyes the mortals up.

“Maybe," He responds, neutral about the question. The mortals start to chant and sing, and Taeyong appreciates the tradition, although he has no idea where it came from.

“The girl is so cute," Taeyong hears Yuta purr next to him. Glaring at his friend, Taeyong slaps his shoulder.

“Stop that. You’re the only reason why they fear us! You and your stupid possessiveness and whispering, no wonder the girls go mad," Yuta pouts.

“But it’s so fun! We’re spirits of Chaos, it’s in our nature! Or, really, in my nature," Taeyong rolls his eyes and ignores his friend. He focuses on the girl, who kneels down and lowers her head. Taeyong studies her face and realizes she’s not from the village. Eyes darting to the men behind her, who leave fish and grains for their offering, he studies them. Their eyes were sharp and cunning, and Taeyong knows something is afoot.

“Let’s get out of here, I don’t like this,"

“Awww... But Yongie!”

“Shhh, and c’mon! We gotta hurry,"

“My my my! What do have here!”

Taeyong turns towards the men and yelps. 

“Just some vermin from the village, I see. What do you reckon we do with them?” The first man snickers, before the second man replies to him.

“Let’s kill them. They don’t need to know about their little fox problem. By the time we’re done, the kitsune won’t be a problem anymore,"

Taeyong’s eyes widen. Fox problem? Were they talking about him. Before he could react, Yuta walks in front of him and shifts. Nine silver tails sprout out from behind him, and his brown locks blending into an angry shade of red. Taeyong can’t see his face, but sees his fingers curling into claws and can assume that his eyes are lighting a threatening fire.

“Fox problem huh? Well, I guess you found it," The fox sneers. The two men are shocked, but whip out their bow and arrows. With blinding speed, Yuta charges at them, snatching the first bow and snapping it in half. He grabs the first man and flings him to the ground. The other fires an arrow at him, which Yuta jumps to dodge. It sticks into the tree nearby and Yuta grabs the other man up by his neck.

“Take this as a warning. Leave, or die,"

“I’ll kill you. You pest," The man chokes out. 

So Yuta snaps his neck.

-

But it’s not like Jisung saw what happened.

“Hyung!” He helps as Johnny covers his eyes during the bloody scene. The dragon hisses.

“Why are you showing this to the baby?”

“I’m not a baby!” Jisung protests, earning a sigh from Taeil.

“Johnny,"

“No," Johnny huffs.

Silence.

Taeil sighs and waves his hand. Jisung wrestles Johnny’s hands down and sees the scene later, with no blood in sight.

“Now be quiet. The important part is coming up,"

-

Standing in the middle of his enemy’s dead bodies, Yuta exhales.

“That was close," He whispers, and looks around for Taeyong. The other is nowhere in sight, and Yuta panics.

“What the-” He yelps, interrupted. Spinning around, he grabs the arrow that landed in his neck. Ripping it out, Yuta glares at an empty vial in the arrow. His vision hazes, and he looks up to find the beautiful girl from earlier holding a bow. Writhing in pain as his body goes limp, Yuta growls as the girl gets closer.

“Aww, how cute. Did my two buffoons harm you? I was looking for a new pet, and I’d be terribly mad if it got scratches on its fur," The girl leans down, smiling as she brushes Yuta’s hair out of his face. The fox screams, but it comes out as a whimper instead. The poison creeps throughout his body, and his magical blood barely saves him.

“The poison could kill a whale, you know? But to an immortal, it probably just hurts a lot, right? Shame that your little friend couldn’t be here for this. I’m rather curious why a fox would befriend a human, but he ran off, unfortunately," The girl muses, a creepy grin etched on her face. Yuta’s head spin, the poison clouding his thoughts. Taeyong left him? Why? Yuta couldn’t understand why he’d just leave him like this. It’s not like the two guys were actually scary. Or was Taeyong too scared about their secret as—

_ Thud,  _ a body falls on the ground. Yuta sees a head rolling out of the corner of his eyes, but all he focuses on is the view in front of him.

Taeyong stands there, unamused expression on his face. His hair’s a brilliant shade of silver, matching with the nine tails behind him. His clothes and expression reminded Yuta of the princes that sometimes visit the region. 

“I leave for two seconds to go check up on something, and you nearly get yourself kidnapped?”

“Shut up,"

-

A fit of giggles plagues Jisung as he watches the scene fade. Johnny chuckles too, and Taeil hands Jisung another cookie. 

“They seem so happy,” Jisung comments, “I don’t see what went wrong," Taeil smiles sadly. 

“Yongie looked so happy," Johnny’s voice comes off wistfully from above. Jisung cranes his neck and looks at the elder.

“Wait. What happened?” Taeil rubs Johnny’s thigh in comfort and looks sadly at Jisung.

“It’s what they learnt that day Sungie. Just watch,"

-

“I don’t understand, why are you so mad?!” Yuta glares at Taeyong, half-fox form and blazing with fury.

“You heard those people. You’re out here, working your ass off to help these people, and yet at first chance they get, they try to kidnap you. The better question is, why aren’t you mad?” Yuta shouts back, glaring daggers into the other’s eyes.

“Because everyone is different. You have the ones like that, and then you have the nice ones!” 

“And what’s stopping them from doing it again?” Yuta roars back. Taeyong flinches, not used to this aggressive tone. He growls in response, but turns away to ignore Yuta.

“You’re fucking naive Yongie, just you wait until this whole thing comes back and bites you,"

And with that, Yuta storms off.

There were 9 more attacks after that, and Taeyong sees Yuta get angrier with every attempt. They fight after every one of the attacks, and Yuta storms off every time Taeyong starts to tune him out. The length of time he’s gone to increases every time, until one day, he doesn’t seem to come back. An attack happens, like it always does, but the entire village brings weapons and numbers this time. The shrine lays empty and broken after the fight, and Taeyong barely chases the villagers back. He’s immortal, and technically can’t die, but he was sure damn close to it.

Laying on his back, Taeyong feels a tear slip past his cheek. He’s so used to Yuta being there, his best friend and soulmate. Every action they make reflecting each other and every thought they have is shared. The pain in his body aches, but the right squeeze on his foxy heart hurts more. The blood around him pools, but Taeyong doesn’t care. His vision fogs and his hearing blends everything together, but Taeyong doesn’t care. He can’t feel the pair of arms that wrap around him later, dragging him away from the scene, nor is he aware of the desperate whispers in his ears. The pain takes over, and suddenly Taeyong feels so, so tired. They say an immortal can’t die, but Taeyong is pretty damn close. Maybe if he just closes his eyes, and rest for a bit.

Maybe Yuta will be back by then.

Maybe he’ll be fine again then.

-

A sniffle escapes Jisung’s trembling mouth as he watches Taeyong lie on the blood-stained grass. He feels Johnny wrap his arm around Taeil, and feels the elder presses up against his side as he’s pulled in. The faerie tries to tear his eyes away, but every time he turns, muted sobs on the projection pulls him back. Taeil grabs his hand, and Jisung feels the elder’s warm comfort. It’s odd how familiar the pair feels considering how they’ve barely met. Maybe it is something about the fact that Taeil cared for him before he was born, or how Johnny babied him over the past two days. Jisung feels a tear slip past as he tries to snuggle in deeper.

He prays that the two foxes will be okay.

-

When Taeyong comes to, he’s alone in the grove he and Yuta call home. Or called home. They haven’t been together in so long, it’s hard to tell now. Taeyong groans as he gets up, despite all the injuries being healed. The air is quiet, almost serene as the trees shield over him. The flowers seem sad, almost listless, while the normal wildlife is silent. Almost as if it didn’t exist. Taeyong walks around, caressing the leaves and flowers, trying to ask them what’s wrong. Yuta used to tease him about it, being way too sensitive and soft for a fox spirit of chaos. 

Yuta.

The name tugs at his heart in ways Taeyong hasn’t ever known.

Maybe it’s for good. That they’re separated. 

A loud crash happens outside of the grove, and Taeyong rushes to it. He pushes away leaf after leaf, until he arrives at the scene.

The first thing Taeyong sees is fire.

Then the screams came and it hurts his ears. The peaceful quietness of the forest is overwhelmed as he sees the landscape burning. Villages burning as far as his supernatural eyes can see. Forests wailing in pain as the flames destroy their soul. The lakes evaporates as hot whisks of flames burn through them. The land used to be so beautifully growing.

Now it was hell.

In the middle of it all, stood a familiar figure, except it wasn’t familiar at all. Silver tails singed with black tips blended red with anger, and neatly trimmed red hair now flickered wildly as the flames grew. The pure white clothes the fox donned that used to resemble an angel now burned with red and black.

Hatred and Death.

Taeyong screams at the fox, and bolts from house to house to him. The forest he leaves behind starts to burn, and by the time he reaches his old friend, it’s nearly in crisp.

“Yuta!” Taeyong screams. The fox turns around, eyes devoid of emotions despite the tears streaming down his once-rosy cheeks. It’s haunting, how the other hisses at Taeyong, as if they never met.

No, because they’ve never met.

Taeyong‘s never seen Yuta like this, so cold and angry. The sadness in his tears seems out of place, with the feral fury taking over his entire being.

“They hunted you. They hunted us. And yet you still feel sympathy?” A whisper escapes, and Taeyong sees emotion returning to Yuta. A short-lived moment though, as the fox’s eyes morph into rage once again. Before it goes badly, Taeyong screams again.

“Don’t do this Yuta. It won’t help anything," He pleads.

“It will protect you," Empty words.

“No, it won’t! We just need to run, or find another place. We don’t need to kill them all!” A whimper.

“It won’t work. I know it won’t," Firm growls this time. Taeyong sees the sadness now, beneath the new cold exterior. Abandoning all logic, he rushes to the fox and wraps him in a hug. The world stills and Taeyong pleads again.

“Please. Stop,"

“I can’t. Not until they pay for what they’ve done,"

A breath. A decision. A realization.

“I love you,” Taeyong whispers, squeezing his eyes shut, “and I’m sorry,"

Grabbing Yuta’s wrist, Taeyong twists them around and binds him down. Tears streaming down his face as the other lets out a cry of pain, Taeyong starts chanting a spell. A cage of energy sparkles to life, trapping the Kitsune’s body and shocking it. Taeyong keeps him pinned down, despite any and all screams of protest. Shakily standing up, he starts to absorb the chaos around him, feeding off of it and preventing further damage. The land slowly stops burning, but it’s now devoid of life.

It’s too late. The damage was done.

And the thing is, Taeyong doesn’t know if that day destroyed him more than it did the landscape.

-

“That’s so..," Jisung starts, eyes glossy and teary. He struggles to find the words as he chokes back a sob. Johnny rubs a soothing hand between his hands, while Taeil fades the room back to its dreamy purple. It’s sad now, how Jisung sees the pastel purple in the room and can only think of the bruises the two foxes acquired.

“It’s okay Sungie. They didn’t hurt each other again. That was ages ago. Japan has regrown, pretty much," Taeil whispers comfortingly. Still, the feeling didn’t sit right in his stomach.

“But what happened to them?” The younger asks, voice shaky. Johnny tenses up and Taeil sighs. Jisung has a feeling that something is wrong, and voices it. He’s met with downcast eyes and sad auras, as if the purple in the room turned into a deep blue.

“They went back to the island and tried to pretend nothing happened. It went well for about a decade, until Yuta vanished one day. Taeyong nearly tore up the world again, but Doyoung reeled him in. I-“ Taeil chokes. Johnny stops him gently and continues with a longing whisper.

“Chenle’s the only one who saw him leave. Apparently, he knows where Yuta is, but swore not to ever tell. We assume he’s waiting for Yuta to come back on his own but..," Johnny trails off.

“It’s been two millennias,

“He hasn’t come back."


	3. Chapter 3

Jisung has seen a lot of weird stuff lately.

While yes, most of it was explained through Taeil’s super-helpful history lessons, it doesn’t explain the current situation Jisung was looking at.

A stranger was standing in the middle of Taeil’s kitchen, making what smelled like bacon and eggs and Jisung wonders for a brief second if they’re getting robbed and the robbers are incredibly nice. Of course, logic is thrown out the window the moment he sees a golden baby dragon perched on said stranger’s shoulder.

“What- When- Where- Why- Who- How- Huh?” Jisung stumbles out. The stranger looks up and meets Jisung’s eyes. He’s got big, round eyes and some adorably squishy cheeks that make him resemble a bunny of sorts. The dragon snorts put a tendril of flame and Jisung flinches at the memory of last night’s story.

“Last time I checked, humans didn’t have ‘huh?’ as a question form," The stranger chuckles and goes back to the bacon. 

“Oh, you’re here already," A voice behind Jisung makes him jump. Johnny in dog form rushes out at the smell of food and Jisung whirls around to see Taeil.

“You know who this weird bunny lookalike lowkey robber guy is?” Jisung yelps. The stranger laughs and throws a piece of toast their way. Taeil catches it with magic and offers it to Jisung.

“The ‘weird bunny lookalike lowkey robber guy’ is Kim Doyoung, and be nice to someone who’s making breakfast for you," Jisung takes the toast and bites into it, mumbling out a muted apology. Stranger, aka Doyoung, grins as he waves his hand to move plates and cutlery onto Taeil’s dining table. Jisung immediately dives for the bacon, and it seems that Johnny and the golden dragon had the same idea. Between the three of them, the food is devoured in about 5 seconds, and Jisung is proud to say he ate about 50 percent of it.

“I see you’ve got another food monster here," Doyoung comments as they eat. Taeil chuckles and sips on his coffee.

“The island is filled with them. I’m sure you can take another one," Doyoung laughs at this and Jisung lets out a loud moan as he bites into the food.

“This is so good!” He yells with his mouth full. Doyoung raises an eyebrow and grins.

“A Mark-a-like huh. Taeyong will like that," Jisung devours the rest of the food and finally comes up for air. His stomach is filled to the brim, but he’ll be fine. The food was just so good.

“Why are you here... erm... Doyoung-ssi?” Jisung asks. Doyoung scoffs and hands him a napkin.

“I’m younger than Taeil here by a couple of millennias. Call me hyung,"

“Okay hyung," Jisung chirps. Already, he likes this guy. Less boring compared to Taeil. As if he could read Jisung’s thoughts (maybe he could? Who knows with primordial beings) Taeil looks right at Jisung and interrupts his train of thoughts.

“Anyways, Doyoung is here to teach you about magic during the day," 

“Wait like shooting fire from my hands?! Or levitating stuff?! OR TELEPORTATION?!” Jisung starts yelling. This is fantastic! He can do cool stuff too now! Doyoung sighs but chuckles. 

“Yes. All of that and more. But we’re starting with basics okay? I promise there won’t be homework, but that means you won’t be as good as the others on the island yet," Jisung nods along enthusiastically.

“Sure! Sure! When do we start?”

Doyoung smiles at his energy.

“Now, preferably,"

-

“Ow ow ow ow ooowwwwww!!!!” Jisung yelps as Taeil applies a band-aid over the bruise on his arm. Johnny, now in human form, stands next to Doyoung and looks at the scene in concern.

“Are you sure flight is a good idea for the first day?” He asks. Doyoung shrugs.

“I did fine with it as my first," Johnny scoffed.

“You had Jaehyun,"

“You got me there,"

After some coaxing from Taeil for Jisung to take some painkillers, the youngest practically bounces up and tests out his new ability. Doyoung hovers too, and guides Jisung as he goes through the motions again.

“Focus your energy, imagine a wind current–“

“-then ride on it and stabilize myself. Got it," Jisung finishes. Evidently satisfied, Doyoung moves back and watches as Jisung hovers a great off the ground. He sees Taeil wave his hand to expand the simulated environment made of butterflies, and smiles. With a deep breath, he propelled himself forwards and goes higher upwards.

“I did it! I did it! Hyung look! I did it!” Jisung yells over his speed. He sees Doyoung as a tiny speck down below, with Johnny and Taeil by his side. The golden dragon that was with Doyoung seemed nowhere in sight though, and Jisung widens his eyes in panic. He looks around, desperately trying to find it and loses focus. Before he could even register he was falling, a pair of strong arms catches him, and Jisung opens his eyes to see a pink-haired man smiling at him with full dimples. He’s wearing a green bomber jacket and a red shirt underneath. There’s some kind of cheesy English line on it, but Jisung’s can’t recognize it. A gold chain hangs on his neck, with a dog tag of sorts, and a small golden figure. Jisung recognizes the tiny little dragon from earlier on it.

“H-hi um..," Jisung stutters out, voice shaky from shock.

“Jaehyun. I’m Doie’s familiar!” The man grins. They fly down to where the others are and Doyoung immediately fussed over him. Johnny and Taeil watch from a distance, and Jisung can see an amused yet fond look as Doyoung checks Jisung for injury. The faerie whines,

“I’m fine hyung," Doyoung scoffs.

“That’s what I said, before realizing that I broke my arm,"

-

“You should tell the story," Jisung looks up from his phone and watches as Doyoung freezes, knife in hand.

“B-but-“ He stutters out, before Jaehyun wraps his hands around the elder’s waist and grins at Taeil.

“Yeah! Let’s do it hyung!” Doyoung stutters out some more excuses as Taeil laughs.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll start after dinner," Doyoung whips his head over to Taeil and widens his eyes. Jaehyun visibly brightens and Jisung’s vision is immediately blocked by Johnny’s rather large hand.

“Hyung!” He yells, swatting the hand away. He hears Taeil laughs at his effort and hears the tell-tale sound of a kiss. Widening his eyes, Jisung distorts his face and yells at the couple.

“Gross!”

At the outburst, Jaehyun laughs and Johnny lowers his hand. Jisung sees Doyoung rolls his eyes at Johnny and him, so he sticks out his tongue. Jaehyun chuckles again and clings onto Doyoung impossibly harder. The elder returns the gesture, leaning into Jaehyun and Jisung sees him smile fondly. The same kind of smile Taeil and Johnny were always giving each other.

“Relationships are gross," Jisung pouts and scrunches his nose.

“I don’t want it," Taeil chuckles.

“That’s what they all say, before they find the one," Jisung leans away.

“That’s so cheesy hyung. My point is just further proven,"

“Shut up, we’re having a moment here,"

-

There are four main types of magic: Creation, Destruction, Reality and Imagination. For each type, a physical form of it was manifested. In addition, creatures who could use multiple types of magic were created to maintain the flow of magic. One of which, was a beautiful golden dragon with seemingly no physical form. It’s scales absorbed the flow of magic and soaked up the energy, storing it inside of itself to store it. This creature was a creature of love, deeming the planet a world devoid of its core values. It flew around the world, embodying humans and other animals to spread the magic of love and joy. On its journey, it met a witch, the first of their kind. The witches were mixes of humans and magic, creatures created to help monitor the magic flow on Earth. The dragon deemed the witch its family, because it believed family is the most everlasting of all love. The witch quickly denied it, deeming it to be too human-like. The dragon relented, tweaking the word to ‘familiar’, calling itself a creature that resembled family to witches.

The witch thought he was ridiculous, but agreed nonetheless. Even if it was more to drop the subject.

They travelled everywhere, witch and dragon, to spread the mystical magic of love and freedom. They watched as love changed and mature people, guiding lonely souls and comforted broken ones. 

It made perfect sense for them to immediately panic when they saw love nearly destroy the world.

Taeil told them the news himself, asking them to help him find a way to prevent this from ever happening again. The dragon carried the witch to the island of Japan, where they witnessed the aftermath of a tragic love story. They vowed to create a sanctuary for love, where they kept track of the creatures of magic in the world, leading them to everlasting love, and not destruction. They flew back to Source Island, searching the entire island for the spirit of Creation, one of the two spirits that stayed on Source Island. Unfortunately for them, Taeil and Johnny created the island to be quite hard to search in. After all, it was infinite.

-

“Woah. That’s like... the most ironic pair to spread love like, ever," Jisung snorts. Doyoung looks at him, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“You guys are out here, guiding lost souls and whatnot, but you’re single for like, the majority of your journey?” The faerie squints. Johnny snorts.

“That’s Jaehyun and Doyoung for you, the embodiment of oblivious pining,"

“Shut up! We took our time, okay?”

“Whatever you say, Jae, whatever you say,"

-

“Doie! Look at what I found!” Doyoung turns around, letting the butterfly on his hand fly off. He’s greeted by Jaehyun’s bright set of dimples and a semi-large bird in the dragon’s arms. The witch hums, curious about the creature his familiar’s caressing. Bright red feathers and large wingspans suggest it’s a creature representing destruction. Its long, hooked beak and sharp claws should be sign enough, and the flames dancing along the bird’s feathers give Doyoung flashbacks of the barren landscape in Japan, all those years ago.

“Where’d you find it?” Doyoung asks, starting to feel the bird’s soft feathers. Jaehyun shrugs, setting the bird down onto a nearby rock. 

“It was just on the ground," He says simply. The sunlight peeks through the curtain of trees, illuminating the bird as it twitches. Upon closer inspection, Doyoung can see the soft breeze blow feathers out of their seemingly orderly place, like organized chaos. The bird itself seems to have had been in pain, before probably fainting. Doyoung blows on a few feathers, trying to uncover what they seem to be covering over protectively. Doyoung widens his eyes in surprise. Jaehyun leans inwards, trying to catch a glance, and curses softly when he sees it. A deep, red gash runs through the bird’s body. There seems to be a tiny branch stuck at the end of the gash, covered by the bird’s wings. 

“We need to pull that out," Doyoung finally croaks out, fingers grazing the branch. Jaehyun nods along, and grabs hold of it. Doyoung chants a quick pain-killing spell for the bird, and on the count of three, Jaehyun pulls the branch out. Doyoung winces as the bird shifts, seemingly feeling a bit of the pain. He sends Jaehyun off on an errand for water and kneels down to start healing the wound. He spends this time investigating the bird’s injury in detail, trying to understand what might have happened. The angle it was pierced at looks like the branch had been from a tornado, or maybe a storm, but that’s impossible. Source Island may be surrounded by storms that only supernaturals are able to pass through, but the island itself is free of those things. 

Permanently pleasant, Jaehyun calls it. 

Overly suspicious, Doyoung calls it.

“So how’s it––“

“Fucking hell Jae! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Doyoung yelps, his train of ideas interrupted. The dragon chuckles, wordlessly handing over a full waterskin. Where he got it, Doyoung won’t question. He’s seen Jaehyun pull weirder shit out of thin air. Doyoung gets to work, working his magic (literally) as he heals the wound up. Deeming his job well done, he stands up and hands Jaehyun the now-empty water skin. Jaehyun keeps his gaze on the bird, and Doyoung grins at the adorably concerned face the familiar had on.

“It’ll be fine. C’mon, it’s getting late," When the younger seems to stay fixed, Doyoung rolls his eyes.

“Bring it along then, let’s go,"

Of course, Doyoung should’ve known that random bird creatures don’t appreciate being called an ‘it’.

-

Johnny explodes in loud laughter and Jisung can’t stifle the giggles coming out of his mouth. The scene in front of him is… interesting, to say the least. Doyoung and Jaehyun are taking cover behind a tree as a glowing red flame of a bird fumes. Its feathers seem to explode everywhere, and Jisung feels the first giggle slip out as he sees Jaehyun running around in circles, butt on fire. Said familiar buries his face in his witch’s shoulder blades, ears a burning shade of red. Even Taeil snorts, and Jisung starts doubling over. Doyoung sighs, but smiles.

“You’ll never live this down, Jae,"

In the corner of his eyes, past the tears forming in his eyes from laughing too hard, Jisung sees the pair look at each other fondly. Doyoung gives Jaehyun a small peck on the forehead and Jisung internally rolls his eyes.

He definitely doesn’t understand love and all its weird idiots.

-

“Now that we’ve all calmed down. Can we please get to the introductions?” Doyoung pleads, looking between his fuming familiar and a smug bird-turned-boy. Said petty familiar sticks his tongue out, and the boy widens his eyes in offence. Before they start throwing fists again, Doyoung activates a calming spell. Both sides sit down, albeit reluctantly and Doyoung can only sigh.

“I’ll start. I’m Doyoung, a witch looking for the Spirit of Creation on the island," Glaring at Jaehyun, Doyoung commands him to go next with his eyes. The dragon refuses to comply, and Doyoung is about to give up when the boy speaks up.

“Sicheng. Phoenix. I don’t have a purpose or goal," Doyoung raises his eyebrow.

“Really? What do you do then?” He wonders aloud. The boy, Sicheng, shrugs.

“Fly around the island, laugh at the humans who try to sail into the island, eat the island’s fruits… Y’know, that kind of stuff," Doyoung wrinkles his nose.

“Aren’t you curious what’s happening outside? You’ve probably been here for a millennia," 

“Too much work. The outside world seems boring," He yawns. Doyoung is about to retort, when Jaehyun does it for him.

“But you’ve never gone out there! How are you supposed to judge?” Sicheng shrugs again.

“I just know so,"

Jaehyun looks like he’s two seconds and a spell from attacking, so Doyoung wisely butts in.

“This is Jaehyun, by the way. He’s my familiar and partner," Sicheng nods at that, acknowledging them.

“Are you two like, a thing? Because I swear, everyone around here is falling in love and I really hope you’re a part of the single club," Doyoung chuckles.

“We’re not," He replies curtly. Jaehyun swivels his head towards Doyoung, seemingly surprised. Sicheng catches this, and raises an eyebrow.

“You sure ‘bout that?”

Doyoung stares at Jaehyun in return, eyes squinting in confusion.

They weren’t a couple. They spend almost all their time together, yes, and Doyoung loves every second of it, yes. They sleep leaning on each other, share small kisses on their cheeks and hands, sharing almost everything with each other, seeing one another as they wake up and fall asleep, but that doesn’t mean they’re a couple. Right?

Because if they’re a couple, then that means Doyoung likes Jaehyun in a way that is absolutely not platonic, and Doyoung is pretty sure that’s not true. Sure, he thinks the dragon is eternally adorable and perfect, and he dreams about kissing the familiar sometimes, but that’s not really important. He likes seeing the other boy laugh, likes seeing his dimples and eye smile, as well as all of his kindness towards anyone and everyone. He secretly admits that an angry and annoyed Jaehyun is a very hot Jaehyun, but friends call each other hot right? It’s not like Doyoung wants Jaehyun to hold his hand and call him cute and kiss him on the lips and––

Oh.

“Oh," Doyoung says dumbly. Sicheng cackles, and Doyoung feels his entire world collapsing.

-

“‘Oh’? Where’s all your romantic experience? All your matchmaking and love spreading?” Jisung gasps, clearly confused. It seems to be Doyoung’s turn to be embarrassed, as he leans into his boyfriend’s arms and melts.

“Shut up," He snaps with no bite. Taeil only chuckles, intertwining his fingers with Johnny as they offer Doyoung some comfort.

“It could have been worse Doie, imagine if Donghyuck had been Sicheng," A groan follows and Jisung looks at Doyoung and Jaehyun, confused.

“Please don’t remind me of that demon child,"

“I’m just trying to help,"

“And you’re giving me war flashbacks, now shut up hyung,"

-

After some awkward confessing and clearing up, involving one too many fiery feathers from their new friend, Doyoung finally slides his hand into Jaehyun’s and feels content. Huh, they really acted like a couple before.

“Now that that’s out of the way, can I ask how you got injured?” Doyoung speaks up, breaking the silence they’ve created under the moonlight and darkness of the canopy of overhead trees. Sicheng hums in thought, before shrugging.

“Raced with the seagulls. One of the motherfuckers went into the storm and I barely saved him," Sicheng comments without much thought. So Doyoung was right, to an extent. Jaehyun pipes up, suddenly smart.

“Wait! If you’ve been here for so long, do you know where the spirit of Creation is? We’ve been looking for a while now," Doyoung hums. He hadn’t thought of that, mentally congratulating Jaehyun for growing a brain cell. 

(“What do you mean “growing a brain cell”? I noticed your big fat crush first, Doie," “That’s eyes, Jae, not brainpower,")

Sicheng sinks into thought, and Doyoung watches him expectantly. After a few seconds, Sicheng smiles.

“If by ‘Spirit of Creation’, you mean the sleeping old guy in the Mother Tree, then I think I know where he is," Doyoung looks at Jaehyun and shrugs.

“Can’t hurt to check it out,"

.

.

.

Turns out, it could hurt to check it out.

“Why the fuck is Mother Tree’s surrounding brush so prickly? Ow! Fuck this–Ow!” Jaehyun laughs, dragon voice deep and raspy. Sicheng flies overhead, avoiding all of this and Doyoung curses all human forms. Why is their skin so sensitive and fragile? He’ll have to complain to Taeil about that one day.

“We’re nearly there Doie, you’ll be fine," Jaehyun chuckles. Doyoung throws him a glare and reaches out to swat him, only prick his wrist.

“Ow! The little-“

“Stop whining. We’re like, basically done with it," Doyoung stares at his boyfriend in disbelief.

“You’re lucky you’re cute," Jaehyun grins, toothy dragon-ness and all.

“I am lucky. Lucky to have you,"

“I can hear your disgusting PDA from up here. Shut up,"

-

“Sicheng is my spirit animal," Jisung deadpans. Taeil giggles, patting his arm. Jisung watches as Johnny gives the elder a disgustingly fond look before fake gagging. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Doyoung rolling his eyes at him.

“Just you wait, Sungie,"

At this point, Jisung is getting quite sick of that sentence.

-

Doyoung gasps, eyes widening as he takes in the scenery around him. Thick, thorny briar branches line the forest floor, trapping the decaying nature underneath it. A stray butterfly tries to land on a leaf near the branch and Doyoung startles as it suddenly bursts into flame. The sky is an ugly shade of green and purple, and the so-called Mother Tree is leaf-less and ash-like. Her only remaining brown branches loop protectively over a bed of what looks like flowers, although they seem to have long wilted. The wind here is non-existent, no sign of life in an area of the forest that was supposed to be full of life.

“What happened?” Doyoung hears Jaehyun whisper, hands protectively swinging over the witch. So he got lands in front of them, shifting into human form.

“I don’t know. The tree was fine, and a boy came here every day to tend for her. Then one day, the boy disappeared and the tree started dying," Doyoung hums, nodding in contemplation.

“Do you know where he went?” Sicheng shakes his head.

“Only that he had really pale skin, and a sad smile every time he looks at the flower bed," Jaehyun frowns.

“Well, that’s helpful,"

Doyoung pulls the younger closer, using his half-shifted scales to shield himself from the thorns as he inches closer. Breathing a simple growth spell into the flowers, Doyoung watches as it blooms again, before withering. He frowns, before trying a decaying spell instead. Sicheng raises his hands to stop him, but Jaehyun stops the phoenix.

“Let him work his magic," The dragon says calmly. Doyoung shoots him a grateful smile, turning his attention away for a second. Sicheng’s eyes shift suddenly, from fear to surprise, and Doyoung whirls back. Smiling to himself, Doyoung whispers cryptically.

“The cycle of rebirth," The flower withers away, another one replacing it. Standing up, Doyoung brushes his hands clean and nods at Jaehyun. The younger grins at him, before shifting into full dragon size. Sicheng stands there, still shocked as Doyoung pulls him into a hug and chants a protection spell. Jaehyun inhales a large breath, then incinerates the old grove. Sicheng gasps, hands flying out to save something, and Doyoung pulls his hand away from a wisp of flame.

“There can’t be life without death, Chengie. Just watch,"

The grove blazes, burning down at an alarming speed. Doyoung’s eyes glow gold, extending his protection spell to prevent the fire from spreading out past the grove. For hours, red and orange flames fill the landscape, destroying everything in their path, even the dying Mother Tree. The golden protection barrier stands fragile in the onslaught of pure dragon fire, yet it’s firm. Doyoung locks eyes with Jaehyun, eyes firm as he shouts for him to stop. The dragon grins, landing down in the middle of the flames and admiring his work. Doyoung rolls his eyes, chanting a weather speed to make the sky open downpour. The first downpour the Island has ever experienced, according to Sicheng. Doyoung frowns at that, mentally adding it to his list of Things-to-tell-Taeil, a long-winded list of improvements he should do to the Island before it could become a Magical-Creatures-Hub. Jaehyun wanted to call it the Magic Mansion, and Doyoung promptly whacked him with a branch. The wet ground is squishy under his feet by the time Jaehyun reaches their protective little bubble, complaints on his lips. Doyoung pulls him into a kiss, chasing away any and all whines of ‘not warning Jaehyun before making it rain’.

“Good job," Doyoung breathes against his familiar’s mouth, hands travelling onto his neck from Jaehyun’s shirt. The dragon smirks into the kiss, hands looping around his witch’s thin waist.

“Hm. I’ll let you off this once," Jaehyun huffs. Pulling away, Doyoung laughs before locking eyes with his boyfriend. Dark, chocolate-like orbs greet him, along with a peachy set of dimples and Doyoung feels like he’s falling in love all over again.

“I love you," He blurts out, cheeks dusting pink. Jaehyun smiles and hums quietly.

“I love you too,"

-

“Where is Sicheng when you need him~~” Jisung groans, burying his face into Johnny’s thick arm. Taeil, who’s leaning on Johnny as he coos at his friends, only laughs.

“You’ll be disappointed then," Jisung whirls his head up and locks eyes with Taeil.

“Don’t tell me..,"

“That he’s whipped for someone? Sorry Sungie, our little ChengCheng’s heart is taken," Johnny laughs. Jisung turns his head away as Taeil leans in and gives Johnny a disgusting peck before whining.

“I hate my life,"

“Life? I’m insulted, Jisung-ya. I didn’t create all of this for nothing,"

-

While the pair is busy sucking each other’s face, the rain lets up and Sicheng immediately stumbles to the spot where the tree was.

“Woah!” He jumps as a new root jumps upwards at an alarming rate. The roots twist and turn, forming a strong, thick trunk. Sicheng gapes as large branches grow at a high speed, leaves following soon after. Before long, the cherry blossom tree he lovingly calls the Mother Tree has re-bloomed, her roots opening for the flower bed that was always there to regrow. The grove replenishes fast, and Sicheng lights up in happiness. He looks back at Doyoung and Jaehyun, smiling from ear to ear.

“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much you’ve done,"

.

.

.

“No idea how much who’s done?” A new voice appears behind Sicheng. He freezes, a stray petal landing on his nose. That- that’s the boy’s voice. The one who came here every day, before he disappeared. Whirling around, Sicheng feels his tears welling up. 

Kun.

Kun was there, right in front of him.

Kun, who’d tell him stories of the grove, who taught him about nature and the world.

Kun, who disappeared one day, without a trace and left the tree to wither away.

Kun, who’s now standing in the middle of the pink, eternal cherry blossom bloom, soft breeze ruffling his caramel brown hair and loose-fitting, fairy-like clothes.

Kun.

“Kun," 

A whisper. Then the tears, and suddenly Sicheng leaps across the forest grove, tackling his old caregiver to the ground and sobbing.

“I- I missed you s-so much," He exclaims through a broken voice. Kun strokes him in the back, burying his face into the younger’s shoulder. Sicheng keeps on sobbing.

“I’m sorry,"

“T-three centuries," The phoenix chokes.

“I waited for three centuries for you," Tears fall to the ground, and Sicheng starts to notice the flowers around him. He realizes he’s standing in the middle of the flower bed and finally understands where Kun had been.

“I never left, Chengie. Just took a nap," The elder smiles, his motherly smile warming Sicheng’s heart again. The feelings that blossoms in his heart are ten times better than the feelings of rebirth, and Sicheng welcomes it. He’s suddenly too happy, tears of joy drying up as he smiles with more joy than ever. 

“You and your long ass nap," Kun smiles.

“Me and my long ass nap,"

-

Jisung smiles, tears falling slightly as he watches Kun pull Sicheng into a kiss. Johnny sniffles loudly above him, and Jisung can hear Taeil comforting him quietly. He may have lost an ally in the single club, but he’s honestly too happy it turned out like this.

“What happened next?” Jisung asks, drying his tears and looking over to Doyoung. The elder is curled up on Jaehyun’s lap, smile bright as he meets Jisung’s eyes.

“We set up base. Twisted some trees together and built a palace of sorts, keeping tabs on magical creatures everywhere. It came in handy, after a whole lot of them decided to stay on the island. Kun’s the elected keeper of the palace, and Sicheng’s... working a lot," Jisung frowns.

“What about you guys? And what do you mean by ‘working a lot?’” Jaehyun grins.

“Doie here’s in charge of teaching safe ways of using magic, so another apocalypse doesn’t happen. I’m a guard. Or enforcer. I don’t really know, I just do whatever Doie tells me to do," Jisung snorts.

“Okay, what about Sicheng?” Taeil hums and breaks the illusion around them.

“That’s a story for another day, let’s get you to bed now,"

Jisung opens his mouth to protest, but Johnny picks him up in no time and whisks him to his bedroom. Jaehyun comes with them and helps tuck him in, much to Jisung’s protest. Johnny doing it regularly is bad enough, and Jaehyun’s weird “sleep tight” only makes it worse. Jisung doesn’t care if he feels more comfortable with them doing it, it’s still embarrassing.

He lays in bed, thinking about the past few days and drifts off into Dreamland. Unknowingly, Jisung’s mind wanders to a faerie, one just like him. Maybe his hair is purple, or light green. He’s a little shorter, clad in cute fairy clothes and high-pitched voice. Jisung wants him to have chubby cheeks, like his own, a soothing voice like Kun, Doyoung and Taeil. He’s gotta be adorable too, so Jisung can pinch his cheeks and call him cute, as all the hyungs do to him.

Unbeknownst to Jisung, his dream boy is somewhere out there, dreaming of him too.


	4. Chapter 4

“Markie! Hyuckie!” A loud voice echoes from the doorway. Jisung looks away from his pen, the one he’s been trying to lift for the past half hour. Doyoung sighs as it collapses back down onto the coffee table and Jaehyun snorts at his frustration. The faerie’s attention is now on two boys coming into the apartment. Taeil and Johnny start to light up as the boys smile at them. Johnny leads them to the living room and Jisung bows with a quick formal greeting. Who knows, they could be ancient too.  
“This is Jisung. Jisung, this is Mark and Donghyuck," Taeil introduces the boys.   
“What’s up man~” The taller, black-haired boy grins, holding his hand up for a high five. Jisung raises an eyebrow at the English but returns his high five. The tanner and lighter-skinned boy rolls his eyes and gives Jisung a smile.  
“Hi Jisung," He grins. Johnny pulls them down onto the couch and Doyoung gets straight to the point.  
“Did you bring it?” He asks impatiently. Mark nods, excited grin blossoming as he pulls out a large, mahogany box from his shoulder bag.

“Yup. It was a tough order, y’know. But between Woo, Nana, Xiao, Yang, Injun and me, we did it," Jisung leans forwards, sitting on the edge of the couch as he watches the dark-haired boy pulls out a long stick. Soft looking wisps of what seems to be clouds decorated it, dazzling white pearls holding twinkling drops of clear water along the tip of the staff-like stick. Wisps of flames decorate the handle, and Jisung wonders if it’s safe to touch it.  
“Lucas wanted to call it the Wonder Stick, But Kun hyung stopped him before it was too late. It should be Jisung’s decision, he said," Donghyuck explains, as if that’s supposed to mean anything. Mark stands up, tapping the purple jewel in the middle and the staff extends. It’s now as tall as him, and he looks at Jisung.  
“All yours, buddy,"

Jisung walks up to it tentatively, stroking the decorations as Doyoung explains the stuff in it.  
“Pearls from the deep sea, filled with pure source water. I’m guessing Jungwoo went with Kunhang and Ten down to Atlantis for it? Eternal flames of anger, harvested from the saddest and most resentful soul in the world. I hope Jen and Nana didn’t annoy Yongie too much. A branch from the Mother Tree, courtesy of Renjun and Kun, I suppose. Snowflakes from the cold heart of an ice queen. Did Yangie, Xiao and Lucas make it back okay? And the craft! Phoenix flame to temper with the wood and clouds to hold it together, only from Sicheng and you two right? A true collaboration, fit for our faerie here," Doyoung gushes, and Jisung eyes him weirdly. Okay? And?

“Lele had one, it’s only right you do too. Supposedly, all of the faes had staffs," Mark shrugs. Taeil rolls his eyes.  
“They did. I was there,"  
“Okay old man," Donghyuck mocks, and Jisung giggles as Taeil turns to the tan boy. They stay for a while, chitchatting about god knows what and Jisung admires his staff. Eventually, Mark pulls Donghyuck away, claiming that they have to check on some other people and Taeil sends them off with a box of magic cookies.  
“I could have made some," Doyoung grumbles. Taeil snickers.  
“You would have kidnapped them here,"  
“Same difference,"

-

They say that the brightest light in the world is the sun, with all of its bright energy and heat. Mark chuckles, looking down at the phoenix on his cloud, thinking about just how wrong all those people are... His phoenix, sleeping peacefully on the wisps of fluffy clouds, feathery wings hugging his slender frame as he dozes off, looking more faerie-like than the two faeries Mark knows. Donghyuck starts to stir, and Mark quickly looks away, facing the cold breeze of the night instead.  
“I know you were watching," Mark chuckles. Donghyuck drapes himself over the sylph’s back, resting his chin on Mark’s shoulder and smiles softly. Mark turns back to meet his eyes, gaze softening even more.  
“I know you weren’t sleeping,"  
“Hmm," Donghyuck hums, in lieu for a response. They stare at each other, content as the moonlight reflects off their features, guiding them towards their destination. It’s freedom, it’s love, it’s content, it’s all of it. Mark breaks the silence first, leaning in for a soft kiss.  
“I wonder how Taeil hyung’s gonna tell our story," Mark breathes as they pull apart. Donghyuck buries his face in the sylph’s chest, leaning his entire body onto his boyfriend.  
“If he mentions Xuxi’s stupid bet, I’ll choke him,"

-

“Did you feel that?” Jisung looks up. Taeil stops mid-spell and rubs the back of his neck. The last of the butterflies are settling in as Johnny looks at Taeil in confusion.  
“Feel what?” Taeil shudders.  
“I just felt a chill. Oh well, let’s start,"

-

Around the time the palace was being built, Taeil and Johnny dropped by the island for a visit. They were greeted by Kun and Sicheng, bombarded by Doyoung’s List-of-Things-to-tell-Taeil and Jaehyun has never ending love for his favourite hyung, Johnny. They end up spending an entire day in the half-finished courtyard, laughing away as the sun sets over the orange & pink tinted sky. Fireflies light up their courtyard by the time night falls. The neon trees, which Jaehyun had so graciously named ‘Neo-Trees’, cast a cool light over them. The moon watches over them, illuminating the grass and lighting up their features as they laugh. Updates are made, and Sicheng tells them of his phoenix friend, who travels the world for adventure. Doyoung suggests a system, a way to keep track of the magical creatures in the world. Donghyuck, Sicheng’s phoenix friend, could travel around like he normally does, gathering info and checking up on everyone.  
“But what about the sea creatures?” Taeil asks. Johnny nods in agreement, as Kun and Doyoung exchange a sly smile. Jaehyun stands up, making his way inside of the palace, before coming out later with an odd device that resembles a very fancy mirror.

“I spent 3 hours flirting with a selkie for this," The familiar brags and Taeil raises an eyebrow.  
“Doyoung agreed to this?” He questions. Said witch rolls his eyes.  
“I’m not possessive! Anyways, the mirror can connect us to him, and he’s agreed to keep tabs on the ocean creatures," Johnny nods, amazed at their efforts and work.   
“So what about Donghyuck? Have you managed to convince him?” Johnny asks. At that, Sicheng looks down, hands rubbing the back of his neck.  
“About that…”

“…then he kind of stormed out, and we haven’t managed to regain contact since," Taeil grimaces, rubbing his temples.   
“So you’re telling me that you managed to put so much responsibility on him that the poor kid flat out denies the offer," Johnny scoffs.  
“By their tone, it was less... ‘offer’ and more... ‘forcible suggestion’,"   
Doyoung looks sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. This earns snicker from Johnny and a sympathetic look from Taeil.  
“Don’t worry too much. The universe always finds a way to resolve problems, and this isn’t even a major hiccup," The primordial being smiles, trying to offer comfort. Noticing his effort, Jaehyun quickly changes the subject, switching to funny stories of Kun versus the butterflies that follow him everywhere. 

(“They appear out of nowhere! I could go to sleep one night and wake up in a bed of butterflies!” The spirit complains. Sicheng whines about him complaining too much, and how he should just let them be. They add a certain aspect of beauty to him and don’t do much harm.

It was about as successful as convincing Donghyuck to become their own version of FedEx, before FedEx was even a thing.)

(At least, they were able to convince him to do one delivery)

-

“Is this another one of your ‘this is how amazing love is’ stories, hyung?” Jisung mumbles, snuggling deeper into Johnny’s lap. His eyes are still trained on the virtual screen, forever mesmerized by the magical landscape he sees. Taeil chuckles, ruffling Jisung’s hair. Doyoung and Jaehyun aren’t joining them tonight, urgent issues on Source Island calling them back. Jaehyun assures Jisung they’ll be back in Korea by the time Jisung wakes up, so he shouldn’t fret. He’s not fretting! Just... worried he might not have magic class the next day! Yeah! Totally not because he’ll miss them a lot. It’s strange, kind of, how he’s grown more attached and comfortable with Taeil and Johnny than his own mothers. In his defence, they were rarely around, and he went through numerous babysitters. Jisung wishes (and hopes) that the guys on the Island can make him just as comfortable as Taeil and Johnny do.

The internet tells Jisung to not think about the future, and focus on the present, yet Jisung can’t help but realize it’s day 4 of 8 already.

-

“Stupid Sourcies... ‘be responsible, think of others!’ What a joke..," Donghyuck mocks, kicking a nearby pebble. His wings itch under the light fabric he’s wrapping around himself. So what if a forest somewhere burns again? Donghyuck can fly goddamnit! Speaking of flying, Donghyuck ducks under the darkness of a candlelit street. A black crow flies overhead and Donghyuck glares at it. The sign the crow rests on reads “the Flying Fin”, although the rotting wood and rainy air causes the writing to resemble “the Puny Fair” instead. Fitting name. Pulling a hood over his head, the phoenix watches the puny humans go about with their day. Children shy away from the street, parents making sure they are well covered and safe. He had heard something like a plague was spreading (the Black Death, his mind supplies. Shut up, he replies to his subconscious) and Donghyuck scoffs at the weak humans. If it’s so terrible, why are they still around? Annoying little humans... He should tell whoever’s in charge of the universe to just wipe out the race. It’s drab and grey, terribly boring and ugly. What Donghyuck would give to go back to the Greek or Roman times, where art and sunshine was a staple of life.

Reaching the end of the short alleyway, Donghyuck finds his desired tavern. Checking on his package, the phoenix pushes open the creaky door. He walks past a crowd of raunchy drinkers, a pair of suspiciously hunched men and a young girl getting cornered by three larger males. Under different circumstances, Donghyuck would jump to her rescue, but he’s long learned that humanity has their scrawny little male heroes to intercept in situations like this. Sure enough, in the tavern’s dim candlelight, a peasant boy pushes one of the males and starts screaming. He, naturally, attracts the rowdy crowd of drunks, and a bar fight starts before long. The hunched over men from earlier seem to find their luck, as they try and sneak out the door without paying for their large cargo of drinks. Sitting down at the bar, Donghyuck sighs and meets the bartender’s eyes. The bartender only chuckles, putting a cup down in front of him.

“I don’t drink," Donghyuck snaps, startling the poor guy. He frowns, evidently confused.  
“Then why are you here," Donghyuck slides a small crest over the table, the one given to him by Kun.   
“Looking for someone. A Yangyang? Heard he went through some days back," The bartender stiffens, and Donghyuck immediately knows he’s found his target. Standing up, Donghyuck takes the crest back in, picking up his package and turning to leave.  
“Wait! I can’t just let you go in!” The bartender shouts, trying to stop him. Donghyuck ignores it, flicking a single feather at him instead.  
“A phoenix feather as payment, and you’ll shut up about this," He snaps. The bartender takes the feather, widening his eyes. Smirking, Donghyuck slides past the violent bar fight and slips into the back. As expected, he spits a false door soon enough and slides it open easily. It opens up to a small room behind the cellar, and Donghyuck meets a boy, who’s chained up, inside. Putting the package down, Donghyuck pulls a dagger out of his boot and slices the chains apart.  
“Is it time to go home already?” The boy, probably Yangyang, whines. Donghyuck rolls his eyes.  
“Don’t know, don’t care. I’m here to give this to you and get this stupid job over with," Yangyang frowns.  
“Delivery again?” Donghyuck sighs.  
“Delivery again,"

Yangyang smiles sympathetically, body regenerating from the scars humans try to put on his body. By the time Donghyuck settles into the tiny room they were trying to hold Yangyang captive in, the boy had fully recovered, scars on his back healing nicely and a loose-fitting black shirt covering his torso. A spiked collar loop around his neck and his hair flare up in organized chaos. He takes the package into his hands, claws extending as he tears open the package. Inside is a note and a bottle of—

Wait, is that a bottle of clouds?

“What the hell is that?” Donghyuck widens his eyes in alarm. Yangyang cocks his head at him, smirk on his lips. Crossing his legs and putting the bottle and note onto his laps, Yangyang starts reading it.

“It seems your Sourcie friends—“

“They’re not my friends,"

“—are creating a sylph. Probably got fed up with your whiny ass," Yangyang finishes, picking up the bottle to inspect it. Donghyuck rolls his eyes but scoots in for a closer look.

“So why do they need you for it?” He asks, genuinely curious. Yangyang smiles.

“Hellhound Fire. I guess they couldn’t find one back on the Island," Donghyuck squints at the bottle.

“Why the hell would you need fire for a cloud spirit?” Yangyang shrugs.

“Keeps the spirit warm in high elevations, I suppose. Maybe it’s all the water vapours in their clouds," Donghyuck hums, moving away for Yangyang to work. The hellhound unscrews the bottle, letting the unfinished spirit out. 

“Close the door," He commands, and Donghyuck reluctantly obeys. Yangyang breathes out a wisp of flame, burning the edge of the cloud before twisting it to create a thin shield around it. He puts the bottle right up to it and sucks the cloud spirit back in. Handing it back to Donghyuck, he smiles.

“My work is done. Let it rest for 3 hours and you’ll have a sylph in no time!” 

Obviously, Donghyuck is confused.

“Why are you giving it to me? Do I have to deliver it back?” He groans. Yangyang looks confused too, which means that Donghyuck isn’t to redeliver the tiny ass bottle. 

“The note says it’s a gift for you though," The hellhound reasons. Donghyuck frowns. Grabbing the note, he quickly skims it. Sappy stuff about Yangyang needing to visit more, cute little phrases from someone in the mountains asking Yangyang to visit, but the interesting bit is at the bottom.

P.S The slyph is for Hyuckie! We’ve been thinking about how lonely he is, even if he doesn’t admit it, so this is a gift for him! If he denies it, shove it into his mouth or something. 

Well, shit.

“I have to deal with a cloud spirit now, great," Yangyang chuckles.  
“It’s not that bad. I’ve heard they’re great company, albeit a bit dumb,"

-

“Is the sylph Mark-hyung?” Jisung asks, genuinely curious. Taeil nods, humming a noise of confirmation. On screen Donghyuck is sitting on a cliff, poking at the bottle he was given and frowning. Jisung snorts and chuckles at the phoenix, relating to the bunnies cowering behind a bush in the scene. Wisps of fire rolls of Donghyuck’s back, burning a small circle in the grass. A nearby deer sees this and immediately runs away, evidently scared of Donghyuck and the fire in his eyes. Jisung is 90% sure that if he could hear Donghyuck right now, it’d be a river of colourful words towards the ‘Sourcies’.  
“Who are the ‘Sourcies’ by the way?” Jisung pipes up.   
“Doyoung, Jae, Kun and Chengie. I’m pretty sure the others haven’t joined them yet at this point," Johnny explains. Taeil stops him.  
“I thought Jae found Xuxi already?”  
“Oh yeah. Xuxi too," Jisung frowns.  
“Who’s he?” A mysterious smile from Taeil answers him.  
“You’ll see,"

“He’s quite the character,"

-

Under different circumstances, Donghyuck would have long thrown the tiny little bottle away, deeming it useless and pointless. But Yangyang had been so adamant that he should at least MEET the spirit, and Donghyuck (unfortunately) owes the hellhound one.  
“Stupid hellhounds and their stupid drunken bets,” Donghyuck whispers, fingers tapping on the glass bottle. By his internal clock, the spirit should be ready in about a minute, and the phoenix is nearly able to throw the stupid thing out and continue on with his immortal life. He vows to never come back to Source Island and get stuck with one of these stupid errands. Responsible and Donghyuck simply don’t mix, so the Sourcies can suck it up and find someone else. 

A spurt of flames tickles his cheek, before burning a nearby fallen leaf. He’s sitting on a ledge of a large mountain. Halfway across the world from Korea and Japan, where the other pesky Sourcies and their friends are. It’s kind of cold, but Donghyuck’s inner fire is enough to keep him warm. It’s quite rocky here, and the forests are sparse up at this elevation, so Donghyuck names this mountain range the “Rockies” while he waits for the bottle to do its magic. It’s nice up here, and Donghyuck might stay in the area for a while. His internal clock tells him the bottle is ready, and Donghyuck scrambles to unscrew it. A wisp of smoke spills out, scrawny and bubbling as it twists. Slowly, it starts to take shape, a head sticking out first before arms and legs follow. As more time passes, features appear on its face, resembling a boy and—

Holy Shit.

Objectively, he’s breathtakingly beautiful.

Subjectively, he’s the most beautiful creature Donghyuck has ever laid his eyes on. The boy finishes his forming, and Donghyuck sucks in a breath to stop himself from ogling. Stop it, he tells himself, but then again, this guy is way too fucking hot and—

“Hi there! Are you my friend?”

Shit. He’s too cute. 

Donghyuck stammers, trying to insult him in any way. It comes out as a weak “No, I’m not your friend," And Donghyuck instantly regrets it. The boy’s face fall and his smile is gone. Panicking, Donghyuck walks towards him and stutters.

“But I can become your friend!”

The cloud spirit smiles again, face lighting up.

Ah, shit.

“Really?” He asks, hope filling his adorable chocolate brown eyes. Donghyuck gulps, but he nods shakily. Trying to smile as bright as phoenix-ly possible.  
“Really," The boy runs at him and hugs the living daylights out of him.  
“Ch-choking," Donghyuck gasps. Widening his eyes, the boy loosens his grip.  
“Sorry," A head shake.  
“Don’t be..," Donghyuck whispers back. Looking into his eyes, the phoenix asks gently.  
“What’s your name?” The boy frowns.  
“I don’t know. Give me a name, friend,"  
“Donghyuck. Call me Donghyuck. As for your name..," Donghyuck scrunches his eyes together, deep in thought. Finally, he makes up his mind.  
“This marks a new chapter in my life, and a start for you... so I’ll call you Mark!” The boy, Mark, repeats the name, testing it out. Beaming, he hugs (read: chokes) Donghyuck.

“I love it. Thanks, Duckie,"

The feeling of joy inside his heart overpowers Donghyuck, and he can’t find it in him to ask where the nickname came from.

-

“Why does Donghyuck hate social interaction so much?” Jisung questions. Johnny laughs and ruffles his hair.  
“He doesn’t hate it. He’s just not used to it. Wild birds and all, I guess," Jisung frowns.  
“Earlier, he seems so..,"  
“Nice? Less threatening? Less swearing?” Taeil suggests.  
“...social," Jisung finishes. Chuckling at his boyfriend’s disappointment, Johnny takes Taeil’s tiny hand in his gigantic one.  
“Everyone can change. Mark is a good influence on Donghyuck, although the same can’t be said the other way around,"  
Jisung giggles, returning his attention to the screen. The pair are shopping it seems, although Donghyuck looks like he’s three seconds from a mental breakdown with how Mark is buzzing about. Jisung frowns and thinks of them now, how much the roles have been reversed. It’s cute. Kind of. Jisung still hates the idea of love, thank you very much.

-

“Why are we here again?” A whine pulls Mark back to reality. He had been staring at some medallions, dissecting their perceived meaning and what they actually mean. The lady selling them had just given someone a medallion to bring them love, although it actually is suppose to bring heartbreak. Mark frowns. That can’t be good for business. Turning around to face his companion, Mark puts back a medallion he was inspecting.  
“We’re here because you needed to buy something for your bet with Xuxi? You still haven’t told me what that’s about," A light blush seems to dust over Donghyuck’s cheeks, but it passes by momentarily. The phoenix grumbles and pushes past Mark. He chuckles and scrambled to follow Donghyuck.  
“Hey! Wait up!” He yells, although his slightly longer legs allows him to catch up in no time. Donghyuck acknowledges him when they walk side by side again, and Mark throws an arm around the younger’s shoulder. Right, he was younger now, since his rebirth cycle just did another loop.  
“We’re here for cactus flowers, so stop meandering off," The phoenix grumbles, although Mark can spot a small tone of endearment in there. He spots the flower vendor, and pulls Donghyuck over to it. The phoenix’s shoulder relaxes in his hand, and his usual snark and sarcastic Donghyuck is back.  
“Honestly, why is Xuxi trying so hard to impress this guy. I’m obviously prettier," He jokes. Mark laughs along, ignoring the ugly feeling in his stomach. Maybe he shouldn’t have eaten that sandwich earlier...

“I agree, although you are a bit of a handful..," Mark teases, earning him a punch on the shoulder. Donghyuck huffs, before gesturing wildly at some flowers on display. Mark stands back and watches in amusement. Donghyuck’s broken Arabic and wild hand gestures do nothing to hinder his beauty, and the tan boy looks like heaven on Earth in his natural environment—talking someone’s ears off. At some point, the vendor understands him, and starts to wrap the flowers in a paper roll. Mark intercepts halfway through, pointing at some desert roses. The lady understands and wraps it up for him too, while Donghyuck regraded him curiously.

“Got a secret crush?” Donghyuck teases. Mark rolls his eyes.

“So what if I do?” Donghyuck widens his eyes, before tackling Mark and starts attacking him with questions.

“Who? What? When? Tell me all the details! Oh my god, Ten is gonna love this," The sylph sighs, not noticing the underlying disappointment in his friend’s chipper tone.

“None of your business," He answers simply, deflecting with a secretive smile. Donghyuck pouts, but relents nonetheless.

“You get away, for now,"

It seems for now was indeed, only for that short frame of time.

“So..," Mark looks over at his companion. Donghyuck is lying on the clouds, looking impossibly adorable and beautiful, fluffy white strands blanketing his small frame. Raising an eyebrow, the elder returns the sentence.  
“So...?” He continues, confusion in his tone. Donghyuck rolls his eyes and points at the bouquet of desert roses.

“Who’s that for?” Donghyuck asks, drawing out his words like he’s talking to a toddler. Mark scowls, earning a cute, breathy giggle. The sylph huffs, averting his gaze to the night sky instead. 

“Not telling you,"   
Donghyuck sticks his tongue out at Mark, but doesn’t continue.

A comfortable silence fall over them, soft starlight blanketing their weary bodies. The cloud they’re on glides smoothly, and the journey is peaceful, per usual. Donghyuck takes the time to roll himself in the fluffy mass, giving Mark near heart attacks every time the younger slips under a little further. Otherwise, the journey is one done in soft, warm gazes at each other. Mark is proud, in a way, to be the only person in the world that gets to see Donghyuck like this. Not the moody, sulky boy when he gets teased, or the sharp and sarcastic phoenix when he teases others. Not even the weary traveller on his way back home.

This Donghyuck was special because he shone in all the ways the sun and moon can’t.

This Donghyuck is special because his muted energy is swallowed up by the soft clouds, smile radiating pure joy.

This Donghyuck will always be special because this Donghyuck is Mark’s only. Only he gets to see him like this, and Mark is secretly proud of it.

Desert roses are for self-confidence, the taller boy thinks to himself. Because with an ounce of your confidence, I could have you in my arms all the time. They’re for me. Or maybe you, really, if you return my feelings.

Mark doesn’t know when he falls asleep, muted thoughts of encouragement telling him to confess already.

Yet once again, another day passes, and three words they both wish to say goes unsaid.

-

“They- Why are people in love so dumb?!” Jisung frowns. Burying his head into Johnny’s chest, Jisung pouts at the frustrating couple in front of him. Secretly, he thinks about how Taeil is essentially putting him through a long romance movie binge, and Jisung is the poor spectator who wants to slap some sense into each and every one of the characters. He may hate love himself, the implications of it webbing way too scary and dangerous, yet he can’t help but want others to still be happy. And if the stupid thing that is love can do that, then can they please grow a pair and open their eyes?

Geez, it isn’t that hard to say “Hey! I really like you! Let’s go out!”

-

They arrive back at Source Island the next morning, semi-fresh bouquet of cactus flowers in hand as Doyoung greets them. Mark hides his desert roses in embarrassment, although he can see Kun’s curious gaze on him as they walk through the palace. Donghyuck finds Lucas soon enough, and the bouquet, now revived courtesy of Kun, is handed off. The dragon gives them a thumbs up and dashes off, silent words of thank you hanging in the air. Kun gives them the pleasure of a day off before their next trip out, and Mark immediately flops down on his bed the moment he’s let go. Donghyuck crashes over, despite his bed being closer to the door. The desert roses are out in a vase, right by the window the moment they settle down. They lay in silence, like the one they shared the night before, but this one is cut short soon as Sicheng pops in and asks Donghyuck for a short fly around. Guy-to-guy chat, he had put it, although Mark sees him eyeing the bouquet by the window.

A look is sent his way, and Sicheng is sent out shortly after a few thrown pillows. Donghyuck ends up jumping out of bed and joining the elder, while Mark peels himself out of bed a few minutes later. It, unfortunately, wasn’t comfortable enough without the other phoenix by his side. He takes the opportunity to walk around the gardens, taking in Kun’s and Doyoung’s handiwork. Beds and beds of flowers adorns the scenery, occasional trees decorating the vast landscape. It’s nearly organized, like Doyoung, yet hints of home-like structures decorate the paths, showing Kun’s presence in the landscape. A large canopy of sky-scraping trees drapes over the garden, letting only soft sunlight in at all times. Lanterns float around, and butterflies fly about the gardens. Vibrant colours cover the fields of greenery, and the soft, ever present breeze ruffles Mark’s hair as he walks through the garden. A large cherry blossom tree greets him at the end of the path, and Mark vaguely recalls Jaehyun telling him it’s the Mother Tree. As he stares at it, thoughts dimming into background noise, a voice calls out from behind him.

“Frailty," It says, and Mark registers it as Taeil behind him. He whirls around, smile blossoming on his face.

“Hi hyung," Taeil smiles back at him, before looking up at the tree again. Mark follows his gaze, and finally acknowledges his words. Or rather, word.

“Frailty of love, frailty of life, all of those. It means to enjoy it while it lasts, because cherry blossoms are seasonal," The elder looks at Mark. The sylph is silent, but he starts to understand what Taeil is trying to say.

“Originally, when I made this tree, I wanted it to tell people to enjoy beauty while it lasts, to take opportunities, and to try to find permanent beauty in their own worlds," A wistful smile follows.

“I guess the first two meanings were taken?” Mark tries, nervous chuckle accompanied. What is he supposed to respond to the primordial being maybe cryptically giving him advice? Taeil laughs, before looking at Mark in the eyes.

“Not for everyone. You, for one, aren’t even on step two yet," Mark frowns. Looking back at the Mother Tree, he slips into thought.

Frailty, he repeats, I guess this means what we have is temporary. 

I could make it permanent, if you’d let me. We could enjoy it, forget about frailty and all of that crap.

I could make it permanent, if I’m a little braver.

-

“You suck, hyung," Jisung deadpans, turning over to Taeil. When the elder raises a confused eyebrow, Jisung sighs.  
“How the hell is he supposed to understand that kind of advice?” Taeil simply chuckles, turning back to the projections. Jisung sees Johnny squeezing Taeil’s hand a little, almost comfortingly. He internally gags, and scowls at the projections.

Stupid love and it’s stupid logic-hindering properties. It’s not idiots to lovers, it’s idiots to idiots who hold hands and kiss and do gross stuff.

As appealing as that is to some, Jisung has seen the damage it can do too.

And it was fucking terrifying.

-

The next day, Mark and Donghyuck set out on their fluffy cloud of travelling to pick up a long list of herbs for Doyoung, because he can’t get them in the Island. Donghyuck seems adamant to find out who Mark’s crush is, despite the elder’s multiple denials and protest.  
“I’m not telling you!”  
“You will. Eventually. I’m annoying enough," Donghyuck deadpans. Mark wrinkles his nose and pushes the younger away. He lands on the cloud softly, whines escaping his lips as he fights the swat-away.  
“But why not~~” Mark rolls his eyes.  
“Because no," He says simply.

Because you’re the crush, and I can’t let Cherry Blossom season end yet. 

A huff and a pout snaps Mark out of his trance, and the sylph immediately looks around for an escape. The forest they’re looking for appears in view, and he quickly changes the subject.   
“Let’s go," Donghyuck twitches his eye, and Mark feels a little guilty.

Today, he thinks, wishing on the desert roses for some confidence and courage.

They spend the next two days hunting down Doyoung’s shopping list, Mark’s today’s repeating itself. Donghyuck seems to enjoy the nature though, singing in his angelic voice to the birds while dancing through the forest. Personally, Mark can’t sing for shit, so he settles for listening. Sometimes he envies Jaehyun and Doyoung for being able to randomly harmonize mid-tune, their singing being absolutely beautiful. Donghyuck though, in Mark’s opinion, is better than both of them combined though, although he knows Sicheng will just call him whipped. Whatever that means.

On the third day, they stumble on a patch of yellow tulips.  
“Ooh! Hey Markie, what do these mean?” Donghyuck bounces over to them excitedly. Mark rolls his eyes.  
“What am I, a walking flower encyclopedia?” Donghyuck yells a loud yes at him, and Mark only chuckles. The younger rolls around the yellow bulbs, soft laughter drawn out of him as bees and butterflies flutter around him. Mark joins him soon enough, and they end up lying together, Donghyuck snuggled into Mark’s side, hot breath fanning over his shoulders as they cuddle. His light brown hair is messy and sticking it everywhere, much like Mark’s heart. The younger looks at him with fondness in his eyes and smiles. 

And Mark loves that smile with all of his being.

Plucking all nearby tulips out of the ground, he tucks it behind Donghyuck’s ears and stares at it. The phoenix giggles, and sits up next to Mark.   
“What does this one mean?” He asks again, and Mark finds himself lost in the younger’s soft voice.  
“There’s sunshine in your smile," The sylph answers, fond smile on his lips. Donghyuck seems content, and lies back down next to him.   
“How do you say ‘I love you in every way possible’?” Donghyuck asks, and Mark chuckles.  
“A single red rose, primroses, orchids, and forget-me-nots," Mark replies. Donghyuck sits up, determination on his face.   
“Then we need to extend our shopping list,"

A small knot forms in Mark’s stomach, and he can’t help but feel a little sad. Of course Donghyuck likes someone.

Mark just hopes they can make him happier.

-

At this point, Jisung is five seconds away from strangling Mark.  
“Why is he so dense?! Donghyuck-hyung obviously likes him!” Jisung complains, sitting up and furrowing his brows. Taeil and Johnny laughs, but Jisung ignores them.

Love really brings the idiocy out of people.

-

By the time they finish delivering the herbs to Doyoung, Donghyuck has managed to find all of his flowers, and Mark helps him arrange the bouquet to look nice. They’re in the middle of the gardens, Mark’s favourite spot on the island, sitting in the middle of flowers and a hanging willow tree.

“Why do you like flowers so much hyung?” The younger boy asks, handing him another spring of primrose. Mark hums, concentration momentarily broken to look over at Donghyuck.

“They’re pretty, you know. And you can tell an entire story with a bouquet. I just like what they mean, I guess. Love and all of that. I always wanted to recover a confession in flower form, so I studied it," He says simply. The phoenix seems to accept the answer, nodding along as they make the bouquet. When they finish, Mark hands him the flowers, and he stands up. Donghyuck frowns.

“Where are you going?” Mark stops in his tracks.

“Giving you privacy to go and confess? That’s the point right? To confess?” Donghyuck stares at him, seemingly debating something. Then, he stands up and thrusts the bouquet or for Mark.

“Here. I said everything in this," A blush paints his cheek. Mark just stares at him, confusion on his face.

“You’re supposed to give this to your crush," He deadpans, and Donghyuck flushes even further.

“I know," He squeaks. And Mark finally understands.

He’s a dumbass.

Words aren’t exchanged as Mark takes the bouquet and tosses it onto the ground. He wraps his arms around Donghyuck’s waist and leans a little downwards, closing the distance between their lips. Donghyuck gasps, although he quickly returns the kiss. Pure joy radiates between them, and Mark can only revel in the comfortable bliss.

“I love you, Duckie," He whispers, heaving a breath as they part. Donghyuck smiles, neck craning upwards and looking so small in Mark’s arms. They fit together perfectly, like they were made to, and Mark has the sneaking suspicion he was dolled up to become like that. Doyoung is that kind of sneaky witch, after all, and Mark honestly wouldn’t put it past him to do so.

“I love you too," Donghyuck whispers back, smiling as he buries himself in Mark’s chest.

Yeah, life is pretty good right now.

-

“You never told me what the bet was about hyung!” Jisung whines. Taeil only laughs, before ruffling his hair.  
“Donghyuck would strangle me. I’d rather not die," A pout form he faerie pulls laughter out from Johnny, but the pair remains tight-lipped about it. Jisung, of course, is highly disappointed.

The virtual room fades, and Jisung finds himself back in the living room. Johnny pushes him off his lap, standing up for a good stretch and Jisung spies Doyoung and Jaehyun on the balcony outside. He’s about to mention it, when Taeil sees them and rolls his eyes.  
“Why can’t you use the door like normal people do?” The elder asked as he opens up the sliding door for them. Doyoung shrugs and Jaehyun simultaneously deadpans a cliche “normal is boring”. Jisung giggles at the pair, making grabby hands at Jaehyun as Johnny picks him up to go to bed. Doyoung smiles at the sight, murmuring a soft “stop babying him” but Jisung honestly doesn’t care at this point.

He’s much too comfortable right now.

Screw love, there’s no way the heartbreak along the way is worth it in the end. It doesn’t matter how adorable it admittedly looks, it doesn’t matter if people find happiness in it. There’s always the cases where both parties just get unbelievably broken.

Love is horrible.

Right?


	5. Chapter 5

“Taeil, you can’t be serious," Taeil glares at his magic-teaching partner.  
“I am EXTREMELY serious. You are not teaching him with that... that thing!” Doyoung sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.  
“He needs to practice his offence! Not everyone in the magical world is friendly!”  
“Not with the demon!” Taeil sniffs, clearly annoyed. Or in Doyoung’s eyes, childish.  
“He’s not a demon! We’ve been using him for magic practice all the time! 100% harmless!” The witch exclaims, frustration taking over. They yell some more, and Jisung’s neck is starting to hurt from flicking back and forth like a tennis match. Jaehyun isn’t bothered, legs on the table as he sips his lukewarm coffee.  
“This is better than watching Ten and Kun go at it," The dragon whispers to Johnny, who’s eyeing the scene with wary and mild fear. He hums in contemplation and sips on his own lukewarm coffee, murmuring back.  
“Have you guys had another Bracelet Incident yet?” Jaehyun shakes his head.  
“Thankfully, no. Gods, don’t remind me," Jisung quirks up an eyebrow. Bracelet incident? A bolt of fire flies past Jisung’s face and he jumps back. The tips of his bags burn a little and Jisung starts to panic. Taeil, who’d hurls the fire bolt was burning with anger while Doyoung regards him with the same demeanour.   
“Aren’t you guys gonna like, stop them?” Jisung whispers in concern. Both dragons shrug, and Johnny leans back onto the couch.  
“Nah, they’ll stop once Doyoung actually summons Lucas,"

-

Lucas, as it turns out, is not a demon. 

He is, in fact, a wyvern. A very puppy-like, tall and loud wyvern in human form, but a wyvern nonetheless. 

“Jisung, this is Lucas," Jisung stares at the guy who just popped up in the middle of their apartment, wearing a ridiculously large hoodie that still fit him perfectly, and a pair of sweats. Taeil is grumbling in the corner, and Jisung catches the words demon and evil. But the elder stays relatively peaceful, apart from the glares he was sending. Doyoung sighs at him, and Lucas seemed so confused at Taeil’s behaviour that his large eyes were squinting hard as if he could squeeze the answer out of the tiny body Taeil possesses.

“Lucas is here for you to test out your offensive magic,” Doyoung explains slowly, eyes flicking Taeil at he end of his sentence, “and NOT to destroy anything," He punctuates with a growl. Jaehyun stifles down a giggle, although Jisung can see him nearly slipping. Turning his attention back to the wyvern in the room, he clears his throat.  
“N-nice to meet you?” Lucas beans at that, canines showing.  
“Same here bro! I’m Lucas!”   
“I know," Lucas furrows his brow.  
“How?”  
“Doyoung-hyung just said it," Lucas widens his eyes and with a comical expression of shock, he nods along.  
“True that. Okay Jisung, let’s start!” The giant claps his hands together and Jisung jumps. The room fades away and suddenly, they’re in the middle of a large gladiator fighting ring. The faerie yelps, widening his eyes in panic and looks around. He spots Johnny, Jaehyun, Doyoung and Taeil in the big box overlooking the arena, and starts to panic even more.

“L-Lucas!?” He shouts, fear in his trembling voice. At first, silence is all he’s greeted with. Then, a loud roar makes him jump out of his skin and Jisung whips his head up. A large wyvern circles the arena, eyes sparkling with thunder and lightning. His large body wraps around the enchanted arena twice, and he’s so massively big and powerful, armies would quake under his gaze. 

So Jisung does the only thing any reasonable person would do.

He lets out a high pitch scream, wets his pants and scrambles away.

“Sungie! Use your spells!” Doyoung’s voice calls out and Jisung’s panicked mind blocks out the words. He dives behind a large-ish boulder and starts cowering. What the fuck is he gonna do? There’s fucking world-destroying wyvern up there, and they want him to use his puny little spells on it? Yeah right. 

A bolt of lightning sticks the boulders he’s cowering behind and Jisung yelps again. The rock is reduced to ash, flying away in the wind and Jisung starts to run again. Another bolt of lightning sticks his path and he scrambles backwards. Light flares up in the sky and bolts of lightning backs Jisung into a corner. A circular chunk that wasn’t really a corner per say, but the threatened mind of a child doesn’t exactly have space for logic. Lucas the wyvern swoops down and roars again. Jisung closes his eyes and thrusts his hands out, mind replaying any and all of the spells he’s learnt. Lightning, fire, water, ice, even pure rays of magic bounces of he wyvern’s scale as Lucas slithers closer. In his last attempt, Jisung weakly tries to deflect a bolt of lightning with a shield, but it shatters and he falls. Lucas is over him now, and his open jaw is filled with large, sharp teeth that sends shivers down Jisung’s spine. The faerie boy covers his eyes, inviting his inevitable doom and tears suddenly overflow. He sniffles, and braces for impact, silently apologizing for all the pranks he played on his moms and Taeil. A, weirdly mint-scented, breath surrounds Jisung and the tears flow out faster. Another moment, and he would die.

But the jaws never clench down. 

Jisung peels open an eye, wondering why he wasn’t a roasted faerie kebab yet and stares with his mouth agape. A blue barrier of energy surrounds him and Lucas is attacking it with annoyance. He looks around, wondering where the barrier came from. He finally realizes that his tears are evaporating super quickly, creating a thick layer of energy around him.

(“Magic comes from emotions, and the spirits have a whole lot of those," Doyoung once said, when they were practicing Jisung’s fire magic.  
“Get angry. Share emotions with the spirit of the magic, and it will come to you. Yuta, luckily, seems to be quite angry these days," The elder had gently guided him. Back then, Jisung thought of all the things that made him angry, but he just couldn’t. Problems with being a happy child.)

But Jisung had a hella lot to get angry about now. Fire rages across his skin, and Jisung’s vision focuses. He stands up, flames licking of his shirt and onto his fingertips. With a loud yell, he jumps up and punches the wyvern with a fiery fist.

“This one’s for all the times Taeil called me a baby!” He uppercuts, dazing the wyvern momentarily before rolling to the side and dodging a bolt of ice hurling down. Shards of ice flies past his face, but he raises his hand and channels reality magic to form a shield. Reality magic for defence, destruction magic for offence. Gaze determined, he charges again, not afraid anymore.

“This one’s for all the times Johnny wouldn’t stop cooing at me!” He screams, kicking the underside of Lucas’s body and swinging himself onto the dragon’s back. Flames propel him forwards, lighting up a beautiful dance of fire and lightning as the wyvern snaps around to try and bite him. He fills his head with the saddest thoughts he ever could, connecting with Taeyong for his Imagination magic. Large, illusionary mini-wyverns joins him in the assault, and soon, they’re chopping off large spikes after large spikes on Lucas’s back.

“This one’s for Doyoung’s stupid useless advice!” He yells, summoning two twin avatars of fire. Phoenixes, based on Donghyuck and Sicheng, slam down and Jisung jumps to avoid a sweep of flying electrical currents. Lucas growls and they take to the air. Jisung clings on tightly, determined not to fall. He summons a wind current and falls onto it. He sees a flash of Mark in his mind and a flurry of sticky clouds starts clinging onto Lucas’s body. The wyvern twists and turns, trying to fight it and Jisung swings himself towards Lucas’s snout.

“AND THIS ONE’S FOR HOW UNFAIRLY PERFECT JAEHYUN IS!” The faerie slams down, all of his firepower channeled into a fiery hammer. It explodes on contact, and they both start falling. The wind currents from earlier saves Jisung, and he can hear Kun’s voice in the back of his head. He notices that his arm is bleeding, large wound zigzagging down it. Tiny-Kun voice whispers something, as it usually does whenever he gets hurt, and Jisung widens his eyes at the sight of the wound disappearing. Creation is happy, proud and content, Doyoung told him, and Jisung lets what he’s done hit him. 

He just defeated a wyvern. Lucas the wyvern. The Lucas who had apparently caused so much trouble once. The Lucas who looks like he could, and probably could, break entire civilizations through brute force. The Lucas who even Taeil is afraid of. THE Lucas. Wow. Maybe Doyoung’s advice and teachings weren’t so useless after all.

He’s lost too much blood though, according to the soft, motherly sounding voice in his head, and Jisung starts to pass out. Kun’s melodic voice slowly pulls him to sleep, and Jisung can faintly register crashing onto the ground, soft clouds cushioning his fall.

The last thought that passes his mind is simple. 

He needs a new pair of pants.

-

“Hey!”

A breath of light filters into Jisung’s closed eyelids.

“Wake up!”

He tries to take a breath, but nothing comes in or out.

“Or actually don’t, I need to tell the story first,"

A curtain of blue fills up his blurry vision, and the tips of fingers regains their feelings.

“Just, wake up in the dreamscape,"

Slightly cool water swirls around him, and Jisung tilts his head towards the voice.

“Finally! I thought you were dead. Wait, you can’t be dead. Dreamscapes don’t work on dead people,"

A beautiful guy appears in his vision, except he’s not really a guy. From waist up, he’s naked for one, except for the overabundance of jewelry, and from waist down, a graceful teal tail is adorned with beautiful pearls and green seaweed, creating a forest-like landscape on his tail. His voice is melodic, a mix between Kun’s soft and gentle voice and Donghyuck’s angelic voice. It sways Jisung, pulling him back to sleep a little, before he realizes that he WAS asleep. Just… in a weird dream.

“Who are you?” His voice croaks out, eyes opening a fraction wider. The guy smiles, and gently guides Jisung to sit down a a nearby coral. Eyes open wide enough now, he surveys the environment. Large corals fills every corner of the landscape (wait no, seascape?) and a school of fish swim over head. It’s a beautiful, colourful sight, and Jisung marvels at the beauty in front of his eyes.

And then, his eyes land on the guy again. Except, this time his vision isn’t blurry.

Now, Jisung was considered cute. His constant cheek pinches and face squishes are proof of that. The fact that everyone babies him and coos at him are another proof of the fact. His baby fat is in abundances, and his blond bowl cut makes him look like a baby chick. Large full lips and baby-like behaviour adds to the palette, but Jisung can’t NOT act cute, according to Johnny. But plenty of people at school don’t find him cute, so he’s not 100% uwu. Subjectively, Jisung is cute.

But THIS guy.

He’s objectively cute. Gorgeous too. Squishy cheeks, big doe eyes, a bright megawatt smile, and soft looking blond hair makes him look impossibly cute. The uwu energy this guy possesses is overflowing, and Jisung would be lying if he said it didn’t do things to his heart. He could probably stab Jisung to death and the faerie would thank him. Who wouldn’t want to die with that amazing face as the last thing they see. No, he’s not in love. Remember, this guy is just objectively cute.

“I’m Jungwoo! Nice to meet you Jisung," The guy beams, and Jisung is a little taken aback. He briefly wonders if Jungwoo is flirting with him or not, then dismisses it. They have a least a thousand years between them and despite the immortality thing, Jisung is very weirded out by that.

“How do you know me?” He settles for that question instead, brushing of weird confident gay flirting. He’s not a panicked gay, per se, but he thinks anyone can be flustered by this guy.

“Everyone knows you! You’re famous back on Source. We’re all dying to meet you. We’re supposed to wait, but I just gotta get to you now!” Jisung cocks his head in confusion.

“Why?” Jungwoo rolls his eyes.

“Because Taeil and company are cowards who will refuse to tell you about the bracelet incident out of fear. But if you don’t know, then you might cause a repeat so I’m gonna let you know how to not repeat mistakes!” Jisung briefly notes how this guy talks in exclamation marks and tiny text, but nods along nonetheless.

“Oh by the way, what are you? Like creature wise," Jisung adds as an afterthought. Jungwoo smiles shyly.

“A siren,"

-

Sirens, by nature, are beautiful creatures with equally beautiful voices. The old myths calls them monsters, luring sailors into trances and spelling their demise. The last thing the sailors ever see is water, and the sharp fangs of a heavenly creature’s smile. The water tastes sweet to them, as it swallows their hearts and minds, sucking every last breath from their cold, chapped lips. The sunlight is fragile to them, as their spelled eyelids slowly droop close. But all that doesn’t compare to the rush of pure pleasure rushing through their veins minutes before their deaths. Siren venom is potent, exciting the nerves in a body and changing blood into a sweet, ambrosial flavour. It’s said to make anyone, man or woman, willing to die a million times for a glimpse of the world’s greatest beauty, and to hear its most beautiful song.

But, humans always have an overactive memory.

First of all, Jungwoo doesn’t have fangs, for one. He's a vegetarian, and absolutely can’t bear the thought of eating his friends. That’s just another level of horrible. He’s a lonely, adorable and perfectly dateable siren, who’s simply looking for the love of his life. When he first came into existence via a sea witch’s spell, it was all he could think of. Jungwoo loved to sing, being his only joy in life apart from the constant drama present in the underwater community. Jellyfishes were so vague and misleading about their stories, yet salmons always bring the latest royal gossip around. Jungwoo could sit down and listen to it all day if he could. Alas, he too has responsibilities.

He used to live near a great human civilization, Atlanta or Malibu or something, but that civilization long sank below the waves. The old ruins of the kingdom now serve as the largest underwater city, where all the aquatic monarchs and leaders would meet annually. Jungwoo’s master, a lovely sea witch named Ten, would serve as the meditator and neutral party in these discussions and meetings. Jungwoo remembers sitting in on the meeting one year, where his exact orders were ‘sit still and look pretty’. Ten is one of the only sea witches left in existence, with all the others shrivelling up and dying of old age and isolation, but Jungwoo had never been curious about why that is. He never had to, as the witch brings him everywhere, including the meetings with some on land creatures. One of which, the cute one who looked like a rabbit, was the object of Jungwoo’s hopeless crushing for a while.

Jungwoo recalls another land creature, a really handsome dragon whom he flirted for a while. They played around each other and danced some pretty borderline sexual conversations before the dragon ultimately confessed to having a boyfriend. Jungwoo has been disappointed, to say the least, but he wasn’t too sad. Jaehyun was fun, but he knew it couldn’t last. Jungwoo was a bit of a nervous wreck, so he definitely needs someone with extra confidence to spare. He wouldn’t mind if they’re a little vain. For a long time, it was just the two of them, Ten and Jungwoo against the world. It would be awfully convenient and perfect if they had been dating, considering how they both had lonely lives and would much rather find company in others, but there was no spark. A master and his apprentice. Two friends. Not lovers.

It seemed Jungwoo was doomed to a lifetime of solitude.

One day, when he was visiting Source Island, Jungwoo complained about his lack of things to occupy his time. Kun suggested he get a hobby, but Jaehyun gave him a much better suggestion. Keep up with all the going one underwater, and report anything important to the Sourcies. Being the gossip loving siren he is, Jungwoo agreed. Sure it would be a lot of work, but it’s fun to Jungwoo. Some times.

(Ten says he only said yes to the dimples and puppy dog eyes. Jungwoo says he said yes to being proactive in the magical community.)

Jungwoo’s not particularly busy with this new job of his, but it does mean that he now has to roam the world on his own to resolve certain issues and problems. Ten would come some times, but he’s not fond of straying too far from their base of operations. If anyone asks, it’s because Ten has lots of work to do at home. It’s not because there’s a lot of cute creatures who lives in the area. Nope, not at all. 

On his journeys around the world, Jungwoo found friends, made networks, ending flings just as quickly as they started, and enjoyed underwater life to its fullest. But his job wasn’t always peachy.

His latest job was taming a panicked wyvern who had dove into the sea to escape from the land-dwelling threats.

In all honesty, it probably wasn’t a good idea, considering how wyvern magic is very air-oriented. The ocean, as it turns out, doesn’t offer a lot of air space. Still, the creature is huge, and absolutely terrifying from what Jungwoo has heard. Ten sent him off on his mission with a bag of tunes to use in emergency and a small protection charm from lightning. Gripping the pendant around his neck, Jungwoo now faces the area where the wyvern has been rumoured to be hiding in.

The area is huge trench, right in the largest ocean in the world. Deep walls of dark blue and large, firefly-like fishes greets Jungwoo, and the distinct saltiness in the water is different then the tropical water he called home. A forest of seaweed line the way down, and Jungwoo can spy shadows rustling in those areas. The bottom is barely visible, despite Jungwoo’s night vision and long distance field of vision, but Jungwoo can faintly see some rocks that looked different than the normal ones. Diving down, he squints his eyes as the sunlight fades out the deeper he gets. Jungwoo gulps, anxiety coursing through his veins as he flicks his teal tail up and down. It’s quiet. Eerily so, and Jungwoo’s supernatural hearing is only so phenomenal. By the time he’s reached the bottom, even water has gone quiet. The surface of the rocks are now pristine, smooth and almost silky. The seafloor, on the other hand, is rigged and riddled with marks. The irregularity of marks offers a contrast to the pattern of scale-like rocks, looking like scars on the seafloor. Jungwoo bends down, trying to touch one of the scar-like marks. The entire seafloor shakes in response, and Jungwoo jumps back, withdrawing his hand.

On second thoughts, maybe they weren’t rocks after all.

Taking in a deep breath, the siren reaches out again, hands starting to cast a spell what he thinks is a scar on the assumed-to-be wyvern. The light source from his other hand helps Jungwoo as he channels the spirit of creation, healing the raw cut along perfect scales. It closes instantly, and Jungwoo’s theory confirms itself. He swims along the pattern of the scales, following the top of it in hopes of finding a head somewhere. When he arrives, all semblance of breath is instantly knocked out of his lungs.

“Lucas?” Jungwoo tentatively asks. A beat of silence. Then the massive eyes of the wyvern starts to flutter open. Jungwoo quickly throws an underwater speech rune at the wyvern, the small stone melting as it gets close enough to Lucas. The wyvern blinks once, before opening its gigantic eyes. Jungwoo gulps, but keeps his gaze firm.

“Lucas," He repeats, and Lucas finally opens his eyes fully.

“Woo-hyung," Lucas replies. Jungwoo giggles at the wyvern’s deep and raspy voice. He sounded like a ten year old who just got woken up to go to school before the alarm went off, and Jungwoo revels in how cute it makes the wyvern sound.

“Why are you here?” The siren tries, hoping to get an answer that doesn’t involve The Bracelet Incident. The wyvern sighs, eyes drooping a little.

“Kun-ge’s mad at me," Lucas pouts. Jungwoo swallows back a laugh before leaving his protective circle. Placing a hand on one of Lucas’s horns, he rubs the body part gently and smiles.

“It was partly your fault, Lucas,"

A groan.

“Please don’t remind me,"

-

There is only one thing worse than comforting a puking sea urchin, Jungwoo thinks. Despite the mess, the sounds and the bad decisions that led up to the event of one having to watch and help a puking sea urchin, Jungwoo can assure you that there is something worse.

Watching Kun and Sicheng hopelessly flirt.

“Do they like, have eyes?” A high-pitched voice scoffs. Jungwoo turns around and faces Donghyuck. The phoenix has his legs in the stream, pants rolled up and carefreeness embodying his pose and expression. Another voice, this one much deeper, replies.

“I ask myself that sometimes," Lucas sighs, sipping on his cup of coffee. Trying his best to ignore how ravishingly handsome Lucas was, Jungwoo squints at the couple. Kun has Sicheng fully in his lap, the latter sleeping peacefully as Kun magics the branches nearby for an overhead canopy. Swishing his tail around, Jungwoo scoffs and steals a sip from Lucas’s cup.

“Who do you think will ask the other out?” Jungwoo comments offhandedly.

“Kun,"  
“Sicheng," Lucas and Donghyuck say at the same time. Turning towards each other, their gazes turn to a challenge.

“Kun is obviously the leader in their relationship. He’ll propose!” Donghyuck scoffs.

“As if. Sicheng hyung’s got balls, while Kun hyung can’t even swat away a fly. I believe in my fellow phoenix," Lucas narrows his eyes at Donghyuck.

“Is that a bet?”. Jungwoo widens his eyes. No, not another bet. The last time they had a bet, the island nearly burned down. Whipping his head to Donghyuck’s direction, Jungwoo swallows nervously.

Please don’t agree please don’t agree please don’t agree please don’t agree please don’t––

“Challenge accepted,"

Looks like they’re all going to die.

“What about you hyung?” Lucas turns to Jungwoo. Being the wise siren that he is, Jungwoo quickly shakes his head.  
“I’m not taking part in this," He replies curtly, before diving down and leaving the vicinity. The less involved he is, the better. Bets themselves were dangerous in the hands of Lucas and Donghyuck. Bets about Kun… well, someone’s going to get VERY hurt.

Luckily, Donghyuck apparently had a plan.

The plan was simple enough. Sicheng talks with a suffocating filter at all times, so it’s hard to ever tell what he really means by his words. He only ever breaks when he’s highly emotional or thankful, but he could watch kittens get punched and not even blink. It’s terrifying, but kind of useful when Jungwoo wants to rant about the latest cute boy he’s met. Sicheng doesn’t have a lot of emotion triggers, one of which being Kun, and the other being Kun-related. Why they aren’t together, Jungwoo hasn’t had the slightest idea. What he does know though, is that Sicheng values a small silver ring that Kun gave him more than he values anything else he owns. It was a farewell gift, Jungwoo has heard, for Sicheng before Kun went into his century-nap. A beautiful band of silver, covered in golden primroses. Donghyuck’s plan was to steal it, have Sicheng get sad, get Kun to comfort him, and in Sicheng’s emotional state, get Sicheng to confess. Not the greatest of plans, but it was admittedly better than his other “glorious master plans”.

But with every kind of plan, things tend to go awry.

“Hey! Get back here you stupid bird!” A loud voice echoes from the palace walls. Jungwoo looks away from his conversation to see Sicheng swat at a red bird. It’s got a glint of silver in its beak, and despite the lack of flames on its feathers, Jungwoo can immediately recognize that it’s Donghyuck. Sicheng, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be able to make that connection.  
“What in the world is Duckie doing?” Jaehyun mutters. Jungwoo giggles and briefly explains to him the phoenix’s plan. Jaehyun only raises an eyebrow. Rolling his eyes, Jungwoo dives back into the water and follows it upstream to a better vantage point. By the time he arrives, Lucas is there watching the chaos unfold, and Kun has started to notice what’s going on.  
“What the hell is Hyuck doing?” Lucas demands. Jungwoo freezes, gaze fearful as he looks at the seething wyvern. He’s so hot.  
“Um— uh–– I mean–– Well— I don’t— I don’t know," The siren stutters, mentally facepalming at his lack of confidence in fear. In all fairness, Lucas is 100% capable of squishing him under his pinky, if he wasn’t a gentle giant. A low growl shakes Jungwoo out of his thoughts, refocusing his mind on Lucas.  
“That little bitch is meddling with the bet," He starts, cracking his knuckles. Dark storm clouds form over the horizon, and Jungwoo can just sense the incoming damage the Island will face. Wincing, Jungwoo meekly swims over to Lucas, preferring to be near the only safe spot that will be left on the Island.  
“What are you going to do?” Jungwoo squeaks, a small clap of thunder making him jump. Lucas smiles maliciously. Oh no. They’re gonna get in SO MUCH trouble between Kun and Taeil… not to mention Taeyong.

“I’m going to teach him a lesson,"

Twisting his neck back to the action, Jungwoo watches with a healthy mix of fear, concern, and curiosity. After all, these things are far more intriguing than fish gossip. Donghyuck is flying up and up, with Sicheng hot on his tail. Kun is sitting on a nearby branch when Sicheng gets scared by a lightning bolt. The phoenix goes down, obviously not as used to flying in rough weather as Donghyuck is. Feeling Lucas frown next to him, Jungwoo shrinks a little more, as if it’ll help him avoid lightning. Lucas is hot, sure, but sometimes his lightning is a little too hot. Sicheng lands in a small nest of soft branches Kun reached out with, and the two exchange a look. A moment of understanding passes between them, like a conversation of silences Jungwoo sees couples like Doyoung and Jaehyun having all the time.

Face morphing into determination, Kun stands up and flings himself from tree to tree, catching up to Donghyuck. The spirit of creation gets closer and closer, and Jungwoo holds his breath as a long branch reaches out to grab the bird. If Kun gets the ring, then Sicheng can confess in a mess of gratitude and memories. If the ring was given back normally, then life will go on as normal. A bolt of lightning lights the tree branch Kun was using on fire, and the elder quickly cuts the fire off by beating the branch against another quickly. Donghyuck, on the other hand, was struck by the lightning head on. He starts to fall, and Lucas moves to go and retrieve it. Jungwoo swims after him, arriving in the lagoon on another side of the island. 

By the time they arrive, Donghyuck is nowhere to be found, and Kun is looking disheveled as he lands. He has a large magnet in his hand, probably trying to catch the ring via magnet. All he gets instead, however, are fancy pearl jewelries. And a silver sword, wherever THAT came from. Pulling the wyvern by the arm, Jungwoo ducks under a bush.  
“What are you—“   
“SHHH! Ten’s coming!” Lucas frowns.  
“Ten? Why is he coming?” Jungwoo rolls his eyes.  
“Do you really think Hyuck is stupid enough to take you on without an alliance?”

True to Jungwoo’s words, Ten shows up moments later, Donghyuck nowhere in sight. Kun and Ten starts arguing, the sea witch yelling about taking his jewelry without permission and Kun explaining that he has no need for those things. Out of the corner of his eyes, Jungwoo sees a familiar red shape flying along the far coast.  
“I’ve got you now," Lucas growls, and Jungwoo jumps at the terrifying sound. The wyvern’s human eyes storm, and the lagoon starts to freeze. Jungwoo rubs his arms, entirely hating the cold reaching their hiding spot. Kun seems to notice what’s happening, because he ignores Ten’s last words and dashes off towards Donghyuck. Lucas manipulates the ice, making it spike up and swallowing Donghyuck in a block of ice. Kun looks around, trying to find a way to melt the ice as Lucas starts to walk over to Donghyuck.

“Ge! Let me help!” He calls, and Jungwoo sees Kun nodding in agreement. Jungwoo casts Ten a worried look. He needs to help Donghyuck, now! The sea witch simply smirks, crossing his arms as he mutters a spell. Being the spirit of Reality must be useful, Jungwoo thinks, because while Ten may not be able to create anything, he can control and manipulate every non-living that simply exists. Out of nowhere, a large geyser shoots straight up from the lagoon, boiling hot water drenching the ice and melting it in an instant. Lucas takes two slippery steps back and falls on his butt, which Jungwoo tries hard not to laugh about. Kun has significantly better balance, righting himself easily as he scowls at Donghyuck’s figure in the sky. Jungwoo starts to swim uphill again, back towards the palace, where Donghyuck was headed. The phoenix was probably trying to split Kun and Lucas up, because he needed Kun to be the one to get the ring. Problem is, Lucas has equal chances of finding him.

Not if I have a say in it! Jungwoo smirks, flicking his tail up and down rapidly as he swam back. He manages to arrive before Kun and Lucas, it seems, and lifts himself onto shore. Water droplets roll of his teal scales as they slowly start to glow. Scanning the sky anxiously, Jungwoo taps his fingers against the riverside rocks. His legs have finally managed to form, and Jungwoo takes off immediately, ignoring his usual warmups before walking. His hoodie and jeans that comes with the transformation hugs his thin frame as he dashes up the wooden steps. He hears wingbeats above him, presumably from Donghyuck, and Lucas’s storm is slowly coming back. Taeyong shouts after him, confusion in his tone as Jungwoo runs past him.

“Sorry hyung! I gotta go!” He yells back, not giving Taeyong a second to respond. He spots Donghyuck on a nearby balcony and rushes to the phoenix. Grabbing a nearby curtain, he covers Donghyuck with it, hoping to hide the bird. The phoenix seems to get the message, because he instantly stills as he tries to make himself smaller. Jungwoo stands in front of the curtain, hoping to hide the noticeable bump and shielding Kun and Lucas’s eyes from the sight. Moments later, a disheveled Kun rushes past, and Lucas is right behind him. Spotting Jungwoo over by the window, Lucas raises an eyebrow and frowns.

“Woo-hyung? Why are you here?” Jungwoo laughs nervously. Why the hell is he so hot for? Lucas, stop being so damn hot when you’re mad.  
“Oh! Um… well… I came back to watch the action! Yeah! To… um… see if I can help!” The siren replies, begging his voice to stop quivering. Lucas doesn’t seem to notice it though, puppy-like eyes widening as he grins.  
“Really? Okay, have you seen Hyuckie fly by?” Jungwoo gulps. Of course he has, he’s literally in front of Donghyuck.  
“I think he went that way," Jungwoo points down the corridor opposite of the entrance. Lucas tells Kun to run back towards the entrance, trying to fool the elder as he dashes down the corridor Jungwoo pointed to. Kun falls for the trap, not knowing he’d been double crossed. Of course, the double-crosser had just been double-crossed, so Jungwoo watches Kun dash off before spinning around and letting Donghyuck out.  
“He went—“  
“I know, I heard," Donghyuck chirps flapping his wings ads he hovers over the windowsill. Jungwoo looks out the window for any trace of Sicheng, finding him in the palace garden, eyes looking at the sky. Jungwoo turns back to Donghyuck.  
“Lead Kun down to the gardens, I’ll get Chengie into position," The phoenix nods and flies off. taking the nearest staircase down, Jungwoo runs to the gardens. He nearly bumps into Jaehyun, who’s carrying a mountain of books, probably for Doyoung, as he shouts after Jungwoo to be careful. Jungwoo yells back a rushed affirmation before swinging himself over a banister onto the garden grounds. Mark and Doyoung are with Sicheng, trying to aid him in any way possible. Out of the corner of his eyes, Jungwoo can see Donghyuck flying into the garden, Kun on his tail. Looking towards the upper balcony, he meets eyes with Lucas, who’s comically blown open eyes tells Jungwoo the wyvern just figured out he’s been betrayed. Not that Jungwoo was on his side at any point in time, but he’s always been a convincing actor. He yells out to Sicheng, who turns to him with confused eyes. Pointing over to Kun and Donghyuck, he catches his breath by the time he reaches Sicheng. The phoenix follows his finger, eyes open wide as Donghyuck struggles to outfly Kun. Jungwoo bites his lip nervously.

Almost there…

Kun reaches out with his fingertips. They graze on Donghyuck’s feathers.

Just a little more…

Sicheng stops in his track, the perfect distance for Kun to grab Donghyuck, the ring and his chance at a boyfriend.

So close–

But then, Kun suddenly jumps up, fingers touching the Donghyuck’s brilliantly bright red and yellow feathers. His hands tighten, affirming his grip on Donghyuck.

Specifically, his neck.

“SQUAWK!” Donghyuck yelps, and Jungwoo watches in horror as the phoenix opens his beak. Before anyone could say anything, the goddamn bird swallows the ring.

Kun stops in his track, eyes narrowing in confusion as Sicheng rushes to his side. The elder stares at Donghyuck in his glistening eyes, not letting any air through as the bird tries to choke out the ring. The world stills, staying silent save for the cracks of thunder above them as Lucas gets mad. Jungwoo widens his eyes, feeling the warm breeze start to chill as everyone holds their breath.

Then Kun squeezes down harder.

“Ge no!” Sicheng exclaims, arms reaching out for the poor phoenix. Jungwoo lets out an uncontainable snort, watching as Kun wrenches Donghyuck’s neck like a towel. His wings flaps helplessly in pain, but whatever Kun did seems to work because a band of silver comes flying out of Donghyuck’s mouth moments later. It flies upwards, going up and up and up before coming down.

Right on top of Sicheng’s head. 

Letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, Jungwoo stares dumbly as Kun puts Donghyuck down. The bird heaves in pain, and Jungwoo sees Mark snapping out of his daze to go after his limping friend. Doyoung takes out his recording crystal, and Jungwoo’s mouth falls open as Kun finally stand in front of Sicheng. The storm stops in its track, not a single sound made as Kun lifts his hands up. A soft breeze flies by, putting every strand of hair on Kun’s head into a perfectly styled state. He snaps his head to the garden outskirts to find Ten grinning slyly, and Taeyong leaning on a nearby pillar as they watch. Jaehyun is on Ten’s other side, amused grin blossoming as the scene unfolds. Returning his attention to Sicheng and Kun, Jungwoo stays silent. No one was going to interrupt now.

“You’ve got something on you," Kun starts cheesily, breaking the silence. Sicheng giggles, hands going up to grab the ring off of his head. Kun reaches up at the same time, and they meet on top of the ring’s slick surface. Their hands lay on top of each other for a moment, before Sicheng pulls his away, and Kun holds the ring out in front of him. He drops to one knee. Looking up, Kun breaks into a smile and Sicheng simple stays frozen, entirely motionless.

“Would you, my darling Sicheng, who has been with me since the moment I opened my eyes to this beautiful world. Who has seen me at my best, my worst and all my in-betweens. Who had lent me a shoulder to cry on, wiped my tears and told me to stand up because I was the bravest person he knew, even though he had more courage then I could ever muster. Who had given me his freedom in exchange for a late night talk between flowers and forests. Would you,” Kun grabs Sicheng’s hand, “be my boyfriend?”

A heart beat.

Another one.

Three.

A sniffle cuts through the silent air and finally, Sicheng lets a tear drop.

“Yes. Yes, yes, yes! In every way possible and all the ways not, I accept!” Tears streams down his face now, as loud cheers and whoops echoes throughout the courtyard. Kun places the ring back on Sicheng’s finger, briefly wiped of spit, and pulls the phoenix in for a kiss. The storm clouds part, revealing a sun that couldn’t be happier, and Jungwoo revels in the moment. He turns to meet Lucas’s eyes. The wyvern was grinning, impossibly happy as Donghyuck gapes. The plan was destined to fail in the first place, and Jungwoo was sure of it the moment he heard it. Taking sides with Lucas had always been his thing, so Donghyuck was idiotic to think that him and Ten didn’t plan for Lucas to win all along.

“So I guess you have to run errands for him for the next century?” Doyoung’s amused chuckle brings Jungwoo back to the present. The phoenix groans, and Jungwoo laughs at that.  
“Don’t remind me," 

Jungwoo returns to the new couple, making out in the middle of the gardens Kun had made for them. It was for Sicheng, they all knew, and it was simply perfect that they became a couple here.

In short, things couldn’t be better.

-

“So why are you here?” Jungwoo asks. Lucas sighs, making large bubbles float upwards as he finally starts to explain.  
“The contract ran out. So, Hyuckie’s out for my blood. He told Kun-ge about the bet, and he’s gonna kill me for meddling with his love life. That sneaky little bastard made it seem like he wasn’t betting at all and now I’m taking all the blame," The wyvern whines. Jungwoo throws his head back and laughs. That was every bit the story he expected, after all. Smiling at Lucas, he locks eyes with the large puppy-like creature.  
“You’ll be fine. Kun-hyung would probably try to thank you,"  
“He’ll kill me,"  
“He won’t. I promise," Lucas stares at him. Seemingly making up his mind, the wyvern shifts into human form and sits down next to Jungwoo in his comfortable little air bubble. Courtesy of Ten’s runes, which were easy enough to use in fast situations with people who didn’t exactly think about their current predicaments.  
“Promise me something else and I’ll come back," The wyvern smirks. Confused, Jungwoo frowns.  
“What?” The smirk gets bigger.  
“You’ll always be by my side," Jungwoo rolls his eyes.  
“I take your side anyways—“ 

Lucas pulls away.  
“Promise me. You’ll be by my side even outside of bets," He whispers, thumb caressing Jungwoo’s jaw. The siren freezes, brain trying to process what just happened. Did he just… kiss him? Jungwoo? A lonely siren with a concerning love for drama and dramatics, when Lucas was the definition of Adonis?   
“Don’t think, just promise me that. Please?” Jungwoo gulps.  
“And what if I say no?” Lucas smiles wider, canines showing.

“You won’t,"

And he’s right.

Jungwoo could never say no.

-

“…And then we got back, Kun forgave Lucas, and all is good! Well, Taeil got terrified of how carried away Lucas could get, and seeing the wreckage his storm left on the Island didn’t help. But that old man shouldn’t be scared… well, maybe he’s scared of Hyuckie actually. I’ve heard a story about pollen and allergies being created so I’m not sure who Il-hyung is scared of," Jungwoo finishes his rambling, and Jisung sips on a cup of hot chocolate the elder had a fish bring over. The Dreamscape, as Jungwoo calls it, is entirely pleasant to sit in and hear stories, but Jisung much prefers Taeil’s Sphere of Time. Terrible name, amazing product. It’s like the primordial being was a tech product namer. Sensing that the siren was done, Jisung puts down his cup.

“That was a horrifying blend of love and action," Jisung finally comments. Jungwoo snorts at it.  
“Tell me about it. The only thing more horrifying was the cleanup afterwards. Ugh, I hated it," Jisung giggles. He likes Jungwoo, sassy and funny, but just the right blend of cute and handsome. Before he can voice his thoughts though, the world starts spinning and Jisung lurches over the table.  
“Oh dear,” Jungwoo deadpans, not entirely caring. Jisung wonders if this was from the infamous Ten he’s heard Doyoung complain about so much, “it seems like you’re about to wake up. Shame," The siren sips on his tea, face showing that he really didn’t really care if Jisung was hurling his stomach out right now.  
“I’m like, dying?” The faerie croaks. Jungwoo swats him away.  
“You’re fine. Now listen, what we’ve discussed here today is never to heard by anyone else, okay? Hyuckie would strangle me. It took enough effort to lie about why I needed a Dreamscape mirror," His voice fades out. Jisung’s head swims, and he only catches part of what Jungwoo said. Nodding his head meekly and praying the siren said what he thinks he said, Jisung closes his eyes.

One last image flashes through his head as he starts to pass out for the second time that day.

A boy. Beautiful as the stars and flowers, appearing right before his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

“Oh my! You’re early!”

Jisung‘s brain activates like a switch. He feels like lead, body heavy and mind tired. 

“Hi hyung!”

Memories of a strange siren and strange boy resurfaces. The conversation Jisung had with Jungwoo had been... interesting to say the least.

“Perfect! Let’s wake Sungie up now,"

Then there had been that boy. His voice was like a million songbirds, ringing like fairy bells as he laughed and sang. Jisung remembers that he had danced with the boy, and that they knew each other. There was no name, yet dream in a dream Jisung held dream in a dream boy like he was the most precious thing in the world.

“Doie... don’t you think it’s a bit cruel to do such a thing?”

The boy had perfectly round cheeks, like a hamster. Jisung remembers feeling the warm sun on his face and a warmer star between his arms. There was a soft kiss on the other boy’s crown, and their flower crowns swayed in the wind.

“He’ll be fine hyung. Just don’t let Il-hyung know about it,"

The last thing Jisung saw before waking up was a massive cherry tree. Gigantic branches and ancient wood, covered in pink and red petals. They were dancing in a field of flower, and there seemed to be a palace of nature beside them.

“But hellhound breath?”

And now Jisung was here. On a slightly hard surface, his brain awake and his body not.

“Hey! I’ll have you know my breath is fantastic,"

A warm hand pressed against his wrist, and Jisung feels a soft breath on his cheek.

Then it came.

“AHHHH!” Jisung bolted up, coughing intensely and wanting to throw up. His eyes squeeze in pain, and the three figures around him watch in mild concern. When he recovers, Jisung takes a look around. There’s Johnny and Doyoung, the former wanting to help Jisung and the latter seeming to hesitate. After all, he might still be reeling of... whatever that was.

Finally, there was another boy, one that Jisung recognizes from Taeil’s stories. He had a spiky collar around his neck, like a he was some kind of dog. There was his bright smile and manner hands with it, contrasting his leather jacket and red shirt. His black jeans are stained and dirty, like he was dragged through a soccer field post-world cup. 

“Good evening!” The boy chirped, tone light and cheeky. Jisung racks his brain for a name, but nothing comes up.

“H-hi," The far croaks out. Doyoung jumps into action, conjuring up a glass of water and handing it to Jisung. Johnny helps him off the coffee table, and Jisung wonders where Jaehyun and Taeil are.

“They’re away on business. There was a crowd of kappas who wanted to renegotiate their pond area," Johnny explains, smile warm and eyes relaxed. His tone sound kind of relieved, either because Jisung was okay or because he didn’t reek of terrible breath. Jisung looks to the stranger in their room with a certain disdain in his wrinkled nose.

“This is Yangyang, by the way," Doyoung explains. Stranger—Yangyang—smiles excitedly and waves.

“Hi there! I’m tonight’s storyteller!” Yangyang quickly introduces himself. Doyoung shakes his head gently and ushers Yangyang off.

“Storytime after dinner! Food is always top priority!” He yells, and Jisung giggles in amusement. Johnny looks at him curiously.

“What’s so funny?” The dragon questions. Jisung only smiles.

“You said that ages ago hyung. When I first came," Johnny snorts.

“It wasn’t that long ago. When you’re immortal, everything is much shorter," Then, Johnny seems to catch himself.

-

A cold wind blows by Yangyang’s ears. The snow beneath his feet is cold, frozen like someone had lashed out in anger and created the mountain. His hand are covered in blisters from gripping onto the hard rock. The Sourcies called this Past Mountain, for it was the first land feature the world found itself having. A beacon of memories, flowering the frozen cherry trees of the mountain with beautiful trees. They say the tree bark is wonderful for amnesia, if you could ever acquire any. The truth was, a keeper was placed here millennias ago. Supposedly, too many abused the power of the past and spirit, and the primordial being was forced to create tight security onto the mountain. Nowadays, a lonely spirit with a frozen heart and icy gaze guarded the flower trees. He was said to live on the top of the mountain, where the air was so thin you couldn’t breathe or be warmed by magic.

Unfortunately for Yangyang, hellhounds were exceptionally good at keeping themselves warm and breathing. Something stupid about being created from ash.

So now here he was, retrieving tree bark for an imbecilic wyvern who mistook a memory wiper potion for a flask of water. Yangyang absolutely adored Lucas, but sometimes he wonders how the guy even has his head screwed on right.

“Halt! Hands where I can see them!” A voice calls out in the frozen vertical climb. Yangyang’s fur coat ruffles in the wind as he rolls his eyes.

“I’m climbing a goddamn mountain with said hands. I can’t raise them," The voice seemed quiet for a second, as if contemplating Yangyang’s answer.

“Then get up here, and then put your hands where I can see them," Yangyang rolls his eyes. He yielded, doing as he was instructed while musing at the million ways he could kill this keeper without even using his hands. When he reached the top, a Chinese style mansion greets him. There’s the flowers he wanted, surrounding the mountain peak. It was surprisingly flat, and Yangyang internally laughs at the shape of the mountain. He momentarily reaches his hand for a nearby branch of flowers. A bolt of ice stuns that hand, and Yangyang nurses his half frozen hand in fire.

“Hey! That’s not very—“

Holy fucking shit.

Why the hell are the people Yangyang trying to steal from always so goddamn attractive?

The boy in front of him is hilariously yet adorably short. About one or two centimetres only, yet his fluffy brown hair and sharp features make him look semi-intimidating. His clothes were adorable too, a gigantic blue sweater on his thin frame and a pair of blue jeans on his lanky legs. There’s a messy hairdo on his head, and a beautiful streak of white in the locks.

“Don’t touch the flowers," The boy seethes, hand outstretched as the source of Yangyang’s semi-frozen hand.

“Or what, you’ll freeze me?”

A bolt of ice wheezes past his ears, and Yangyang lets out a very embarrassing sound.

“Okay then. No touching the flowers. Got it," Yangyang squeaks in high pitch. Ice Boy simply lowers his hand and sighs.

“I suppose you’re here for tree bark, which I can’t give you without permission," Yangyang nods enthusiastically. He bounces over, careful not to touch any flower or flower petal. The petals on the ground made that a tad bit difficult, but he managed.

“I have permission! From the head of Source Island and Spirit of Creation, Qian Kun!” He explains in a hurry, wanting to hug the other boy for making his job so much simpler. Ice boy quickly pushes him away, annoyance on his features.

“What proof do you have of this permission?” 

Well, that almost went well.

“Proof?” Yangyang hesitates. Ice boy snorts.

“Of course you don’t have it. Hellhounds think they can just wander in and take whatever they want, don’t they? Now shoo!” Yangyang frowns. Sure, he may not have written proof of Kun’s explicit permission, but he was literally a well-known person in the magic community. Surely Ice Boy knows that he can trust him?

Ice boy turns to leave, and Yangyang reacts in a quick few seconds.

“Wait! I can prove my worth some other way, right?”

Ice boy stops in his tracks, movements hesitant.

Thank god for complicated cultures and stupid trials.

“Yes, you can," Ice boy whispers quietly, annoyed that Yangyang is probably smarter than he expected. Smiling, Yangyang straightens up.

“Great! Then what do I do?” Ice boy turns around. He seems tense, but a wry smile is on his lips.

“Bless the soul of loneliness with love. Only then will I allow one of your kind to attain the branches," Yangyang hums, contemplating the request.

“What if I take it by force?” Another icicle flies his way, but Yang side steps it and grabs the follow up shot. Flames cusp his hands, melting the icicle in one go, now a mess of water on the ground. He launches himself forwards, shifting into Hound form. Ice boy, to his credit, holds up a fight. As Yangyang reaches for a branch to snap it, ice forms on his hand and spreads down his arms. Ice boy grins as he watches on, Yangyang desperately trying to melt the ice off. His flames are snuffed as they approached the branch.

“I doubt you can get past my defensive spell," Ice boy chuckles. Yangyang glares at him, yanking his hand away from the branch. It’s frozen now, blue and non-functional. He looks at Ice Boy, eyes shining with challenge.

“I’ll accept the ritual," Ice boy grins.

“That’s the spirit,"

-

“Is this a love story?” Jisung asks. Johnny shrugs, plopping a cookie into his mouth. Doyoung freezes the image on the walls, hand grabbing onto a cookie Taeil passes his way. 

“Of course it is," Jaehyun comments from his spot underneath Jisung’s butt. Somehow, it’s comfortable for the familiar, lying flat on the floor with a too-tall fae child on his stomach. Jisung can’t understand why, but he lets it happen nonetheless.

“Why?” Jisung asks, genuinely curious. There seems to be a theme across all the stories.

“Because love is the glue that holds us together," Taeil answers, hand waving to continue the story. Sat on Johnny’s lap, Taeil looks like an excited child waiting for a movie to start, not a time-old primordial being. Muttering under his breath, Jisung returns his attention to the room’s walls.

“Then why does it hurt so many people?”

-

Ice boy, now known as Xiaojun, is kind enough to let Yangyang rest at his palace that night. More specifically, Xiaojun had tossed him a blanket and pillow and showed him the fireplace. A warm flickering light made the dim room feel homely, although Yangyang can’t help but feel the pang of loneliness the dust covered furniture brings. There’s a violin in the corner, placed on a pedestal of marble and flowering cherry blossoms. Why every place important in the world is adorned with cherry blossoms greatly baffles Yangyang, but he suspects it has something to do with the cherry blossom fanatic that is Qian Kun. Under the crystalline chandelier is an ambience of reds and yellows, yet a haunting blue of loneliness creeps into the room as Yangyang takes in his surroundings.

“I’ve never had guests before, so please excuse the mess," Xiaojun chuckles sheepishly. Yangyang drops his newly-received PJs onto the couch and makes a bee line for the violin. He hears Xiaojun suck in a breath, and Yangyang handles the instrument gently as he lifts it up. He takes note of the cold handle and the seemingly new bow.

“Has anyone ever played this?” Xiaojun shakes his head. There’s a sad kind of smile on his lips.

“I never learnt how to play. The trees wanted me to learn, but I could never figure it out," Yangyang nods in acknowledgement. He briefly tunes the instrument, finger delicate as he tests the strings. There was no knowing what kind of condition the strings were left in, but Kun had taught Yangyang the joys of music long ago. He was a small runty Hell hound, not big or strong enough to survive in the depths of Hell, and Kun had found him trying to steal food once. The elder had taken him in with the lull of soft violin music, and Yangyang learnt to play the pieces later on. He starts venturing around the world not long after, finding his own foothold in the bullet train that is life. 

“Do you mind if I…” Yangyang hesitates.

“No! Definitely not," Xiaojun insists, standing slightly awkwardly behind the couch. There’s a garden behind him, and Yangyang wonders if the sound quality will still be okay this close to the freezing air outside. Taking in a deep breath, Yangyang lifts the bow up. Then, he starts playing.

A melody of memories fill the room, swaying along with every restrained breeze between the trees. There’s joy, melancholy, and butterflies with every stroke of the violin strings. Spectral fireflies illuminate the night sky, turning the reds and yellows in the room into oranges as the blues fade away. The trees whispers with joy, celebrating as they shake their petals into the pond outside. Xiaojun watches with a sad sort of amazement in his eyes, not noticing as a single petal lands on his hair. Yangyang, still playing with his soul, watches as Xiaojun’s eyes glow blue, like the trees had whispered to him a secret beyond words. Slowly, Xiaojun starts singing. His voice is low, Yangyang notes, his heart doing a weird squeezing thing as he wonders how long he can hear that voice. They stand like that, facing each other as the song ends with a final chord. Their audience shake their branches in approval, the remnants of warmth dulling in the frozen mountaintop.

The two figures stand in silence, staring at each other before the crackling fire interrupts them.

“Oh! Uh– um… Goodnight," Xiaojun mumbles, scampering off. Yangyang simply nods along, feeling his cheeks dust pink. His mind automatically retraces the outline of Xiaojun’s face, and the echo of his voice rings in Yangyang’s ears. He’s not going to dream of Xiaojun’s stupidly handsome face and his stupidly beautiful voice tonight, and that was final.

It was not final.

The next morning was silent. There was an air of awkwardness as the pair ate breakfast, memories of too long stares and wonders of something more on their mind. The trees ruffle in the wind, the faded sound of tinkling bells in the atmosphere. Xiaojun sees him off, insisting that Yangyang leave soon before the trees grew too fond of him. 

Unfortunately, they had fallen in love with Yangyang since the first note.

Or maybe it was a fortunate thing.

Maybe it was perfectly okay, blissful almost, because that meant Yangyang was stuck at the mountaintop home for at least an eternity. He briefly feels concerned for Lucas back at the island, struck with a bad bout of memory wipe. But then, the trees themselves bend down and offer him their branches. Yangyang grabs on one, happy to find that his hand remains unfrozen. Xiaojun watches with a strangled expression, and Yangyang glances at him.

Bless the soul of loneliness with love.

Maybe it was the trees, who’s been here for eternity without music.

Or maybe…

Maybe a promise of something more. A spark of sorts.

“I’ll be back," Yangyang smiles. Xiaojun simply scoffs.

“You’re not the first to say that," The hellhound frowns, wanting to ask more when Xiaojun waves him off.

“I don’t break promises,"

“That’s not the first time I’ve heard that either,"

-

“What happened to Xiaojun?” Jisung wonders aloud. Taeil grabs his hand and squeezes, sadness in his eyes.

“He loves easily," Doyoung whispers, eyes sympathetic as he moves the scene forwards. Yangyang has a determined look on his face as the hellhound descends the mountain.

“I hope things work out well," Jisung mumbles, which earns a chuckle from Johnny.

“I thought you hated love," Jisung hums absentmindedly, mind whirring with the image of a boy with puffy cheeks and an addicting smile.

“Everything changes," He replies simply.

-

True to his word, Yangyang returns to Xiaojun’s doorstep a week later. The trees celebrate his return, the familiar sound of tinkling bells echoing the cold sky. Wispy strings of clouds pools at his feet, capturing the present of disbelief and joy. Yangyang plays the violin again that night, Xiaojun nestled in his lap as the trees listen to their favourite lullaby. The crackling fire is warm on their faces, like a steady heartbeat in their newfound home.

The bells applaud them after the song concludes, and Yangyang leans back into the couch. Xiaojun sits up from his spot on Yangyang’s lap and they exchange a lazy smile. Then, Yangyang’s pulled into a warm hug. Nestled in Xiaojun’s arms, Yangyang succumbs to the whims of his thoughts and dreams. He dreams of Xiaojun’s laughter in his ears, a sound of bliss seeping into his skin as the bells tinkle in the wind.

“Why are there bells on the trees anyways?” Yangyang asks, sound muffled as he buries his nose in Xiaojun’s chest. He smiles with content.

“The trees are quite demanding, so I hung them up for them to tell me when they need something," Xiaojun’s hand cards through Yangyang’s hair, a rhythmic feeling on his scalp as Yangyang tangled his legs in the elder’s.

“Do you think they’ll let me help you?” Xiaojun chuckles.

“They’re as fond of you as I am," Yangyang looks up and meets Xiaojun’s eyes.

“And how fond are you?” Yangyang teases, although Xiaojun’s eyes betray everything. They bump noses, pulling away right before their lips could meet.

“Fond enough,"

That night was spent in tandems of whispers and comfort. The bed was supposed to fit two, and yet only half ended up being used. Yangyang wrapped his arms around Xiaojun’s thin frame like a koala, childlike giggles tumbling out from his lips. Xiaojun, to Yangyang’s absolute adoration, indulges in the joy. He nuzzles his nose into Yangyang hair, hands rubbing circles along the small of his back as stories are told. There’s an unmistakable ambience of yellow around them. Yellow for happiness.

It was about time Xiaojun found happiness.

The days following are spent tending to the gardens of the mystical cherry trees, munching on their fruits as dying branches were pruned with utmost care and attention. Yangyang finds his new favourite hobby in watching Xiaojun work, his hair held up by a thick white headband. The bells tinkles in the wind, signalling another task to be completed. Most of the trees simply wanted a warm soul amidst their branches to untangle their flowering arms. Tangled in a heaping mess from the constant breeze that blew by, the trees grow in a maze of pink and red, leading the pair of hellhound and guardian in and out of the labyrinth. In the middle lies a single pond, blue and clear of any ripples. Yangyang reaches out to touch it, and the garden roars. He flinches, just in time for Xiaojun to grab his wrist.

“That’s the entrance to the Spirit World. Don’t touch it," Yangyang frowns.

“Then why is it here?”

“The dead are a figment of the past. Neither present in life nor expected in the future. Therefore, it stays on Mt. Past," Yangyang nods, retracting his hand away from the pool. Then, something bothers his train of thought.

“What about the palace?” Xiaojun raises his eyebrows. Yangyang takes it as a cue to continue.

“The palace of the past. On Source Island," Yangyang explains. Xiaojun’s face strikes with recognition, smile on his lips as he turns to keep working.

“The palace is the representation of protecting the past. Good memories and happy times. But the Mountain is older than the island itself. It holds the past of all souls in the world, dead or alive. If one were to be powerful enough, one could theoretically enter the spirit world via that point,"

“Are you strong enough?” Xiaojun chuckles.

“You’re full of questions aren’t you," The hellhound’s cheeks dust pink, haunting bells echo in the distance, and Xiaojun finishes up his work quickly.

“Why are you here?” Yangyang asks. He receives a shrug from the guardian of the Cherry Trees. 

“To guard the trees," Xiaojun answers, receiving an eye roll from Yangyang.

“But why?” 

“I was created from these trees. It’s only fitting I tend to them," Yangyang nods, taking the answer.

“All by yourself?” Xiaojun stops moving for a brief moment, the ghost of a smile on his lips. For some reason, it seems pained.

“People come by sometimes, all demanding the same thing. But no one’s ever stayed," Yangyang frowns at that, confusion etched on his face.

“Why not?” Silence. The bells tinkle again, except gentler this time.

“It’s a cold and lonely place, Yangie. Everyone wants to feel the warmth of summer," Xiaojun whispers, voice small as he heads off towards the sound of bells. This doesn’t sit right with Yangyang, who wishes to bring summer into this freezing garden. Summer wasn’t the blistering heat, or the sound of everyone else laughing. It was the joy inside of one’s heart, given by the world in the form of a lover. It was living in the present, enjoying life for what it is rather than what it used to be. 

Yangyang is determined to bring the present to the past.

-

Jisung gapes as he watches the flowering cherry trees cover the scene, a tinkling sound of bells echoing in the wind as swaying branches ruffle the pastel blue sky. The taste of chocolate cookies feels cold in Jisung’s mouth, the joy it normally gives dimmed as he becomes engrossed in the story.

Next to him, Johnny watches the young fae with a fond expression. They say an action can speak a million words, and Johnny believes just that. There was no doubt about it.

Jisung had found the value of love.

-

They sat on the railings of their mountain home, gazing over the festival of lights down at the foot of the mountain. There’s a race happening, and the villagers seem to be competing for a maiden’s hand in marriage. Xiaojun watches the maiden with sympathy, knowing full well the trapped look in her eye. Yangyang watches the race instead, slightly angry at how the villagers decided it was okay to simply take away the freedom of love like that. There’s the sound of cheering children and determined teens, all with that terrible greedy look in their eyes. The maiden looks revolted at them, the hint of a single tear on the corner of her eye. Then, the smallest boy in the back looked up at her. For the briefest of seconds, Yangyang sees himself in the boy, determined to win the hand of someone he loved for who they were. He knew about the people he had to fight past, and yet finding the maiden herself was their biggest challenge. Silently, Yangyang prays the boy wins.

As if the sky became the ground, it shook with a loud noise. Rain wasn’t scheduled to fall at all, not by the weather spirit’s promise. No, it was a blessing from above the clouds instead. Yangyang watches in amazement as Xiaojun’s eyes glow blue, like it did when the cherry flower petals landed on his nose the first night they met. At the loud sound, the villagers down below jump, halting the race as they ponder what was happening. 

Only the boy Yangyang saw earlier kept running.

Xiaojun’s hair and clothes flutter in the wind, making Yangyang’s expression a mixture of surprise, confusion, amazement and star struck. A single cherry petal shakes from the tree overhead, landing on Yangyang’s nose. Down below, the villagers were recovering from their shock, the racers already starting to run again. Yangyang turns to watch the maiden, who has a glimmer of hope in her eye as she watches the runty little boy dash up the mountain. Holding the cherry petal gingerly in his hands, Yangyang ponders on the nature of the maiden and this boy’s relationship. Maybe they were lovers in secret, two souls trapped in a position neither of them could control. Maybe they were strangers, except the boy has his eyes on an unattainable prize. 

Maybe it was a story hauntingly similar to Xiaojun and Yangyang’s own.

With a determined look in his eyes, Yangyang squeezes down on the petal. It rushes easily, a little bit of liquid spilling onto his hands. The boy was about to lose, meters away from the finish line as two other boys approach it too. Yangyang whispers a spell, sending the cherry petal down to the world below and clearing the boy’s exhaustion. A final push, or the loudest cheer he could offer. 

The boy crosses the finish line, and the maiden sighs in relief.

It was a cause for celebration.

“Remind you of something?” Xiaojun asks, chuckle in his voice. Yangyang giggles lightly.

“Yeah,"

There’s fireworks in the world below as the garden witnesses the first sign of love. A soft and gentle touch of lips, and yet it erases the traces of hurt and loneliness etched so deeply in the garden. The trees spreads their arms in a warm embrace, happy to witness their guardian find the love he so graciously gave them every day. Tinkling bells became a melody of joy and happiness, echoing throughout the entire world so it can be aware.

Loneliness loves company.

And Love was its best friend.

A soothing duet of violin and singing echoes throughout the garden the next evening, sighs harmonizing as their gaze turned soft. Two figures stood in the midst of the cherry garden, a symbol of death, rebirth and solitude. But solitude was bearable with another soul to spend it with. Centuries would fly by as the world forgets about the past, but that was okay. Present stays in their weary bones and tired smiles, the sound of tinkling bells in the wind as two souls guard the passage to death. Day in and day out, the world below evolved. Day in and day out, Yangyang and Xiaojun stay a wonderful constant and variable.

Day in and day out, Death found Love.

-

“You never told me why Xiaojun was so sad," Jisung wonders aloud. The butterflies that make the room dissipates slowly, city lights filtering into the dark apartment as Johnny and Jaehyun stand up to stretch. Doyoung chuckles as Jisung crawls into his lap, demanding attention.

“There was no need. Misery has no logical explanation, and the people in his story don’t matter much anymore," Taeil explains, picking up the plate of once-there cookies. The night crickets sing their song somewhere in the world, too far away for the song to be heard. Yet Jisung can still hear the melody of violin and voice, playing a duet too similar to a funeral song. Maybe it was because Xiaojun and Yangyang guarded the entrance to the Spirit World.

“Death and Love aren’t that different, y’know? People get hurt, people let go and people feel relieved when it’s all over. Intense emotions, yet polar opposites,” Doyoung comments, a faraway look in his eyes. Then, he grins mysteriously. “Or are they really that different?” 

Jisung yawns loudly, unable to contain his exhaustion from yesterday’s training. Johnny takes it as a cue to carry the younger boy to his bed room, magic cleaning up Jisung as he slowly succumbs to sleep. His whines persuades Taeil to sing him a lullaby as Jisung drifts off to Dreamland, and Doyoung tucks him in as Taeil sings. His eyelids slowly droop close, and Jisung wonders if the boy in his dreams will come back today.

Jisung wants to learn his name.


	7. Chapter 7

Five seconds.

Five seconds to burn through the block of ice being hurled at him. Jisung takes a deep breath.

“Focus on your breathing," Doyoung’s voice instructs, nodding at Jaehyun to start the attack. Jisung steadies his breath, starting to channel fire through the staff in his hands. His first day of staff practice. Supposedly, it was to help him channel his magic, although Jisung was more afraid of setting it on fire instead.

“I’m ready," Jisung states, steadying his voice. Doyoung nods at this, backing off as Jaehyun takes his dragon form.

“I’m ready," The fae boy whispers, grounding himself as he sets the tip of the staff ablaze. Jaehyun inhales, and Jisung hears the wind whistling by his ears. Ignoring the sound, Jisung wills the fire to burn bigger.

Five seconds was all he had, before the icy water would root around his feet and stop Jisung from being able to continue his flames.

Five seconds.

Jaehyun gave no warning as his breath froze, hurling a giant icicle the size of five full grown dragons. Jisung’s breath hitches as the icicle collided with his staff, his concentration funnelled into the flames around the freezing icy rock of death.

Five... Four...

A bead of sweat rolls down Jisung’s forehead. The melt water pools at his feet, the butterflies of the illusionary room soaking up the magic. Jisung grits his teeth, spots dancing in his vision as the time ticks down.

Three… Two…

The ice block is thinning, only about the size of a full grown man at this point. Jisung pushes on, willing the flames to burn stronger and brighter. It’s not enough.

One…

Jisung falls on his butt, white spots in his vision as white noise shatter his eardrums. There’s a rough outline of a large fireball instantly destroying what was left of Jisung’s failed attempt. At the same time, Doyoung scrambles to his side. His mouth moves, and Jisung barely registers the healing spell spoken. His limbs stop feeling like lead, but there’s an aching headache in his numb mind. The staff clatters on the ground next to Jisung.

“Are you okay?” Doyoung asks, voice gentle. Jisung nods barely, voice scratchy as he smiles back.

“I’m perfectly fine," There’s a ghost of a smile on Doyoung’s lips.

“Such a fighter. Let’s go again,"

-

It’s amazing how the universe collides in a coincidence at the randomest of moments, Ten thinks. Taeil calls it fate, but Ten prefers to be in control of his own future, thank you very much. Sadly, that was not the case today.

First of all, he had to wake up late for the most important day of every decade, when all the leaders of the underwater world meet to crown the ambassador of the sea. 10 years was their time limit, and most merfolk work their entire life to chosen for such a prestigious position. Ten was in charge of blessing the participants and being on standby during the events. As the Witch of the Sea, it was simply his job. He had set his alarm early, a loud pufferfish with a tendency to stab people who refuse to wake up. Jungwoo had gotten it for Ten as a birthday gift once, after Ten came late to his own birthday party. 

So here he was, streamlining from his humble little mansion under the sea to the sunken city of Atlantis. For some horrible yet obvious reason, every creature in the ocean was coming to the event at the same time, meaning Ten has to shoulder his way through the schools of fish. He arrives in barely any time at all, just in time to run head first into someone.

Well, it was more of a trip and fall, but that's besides the point.

(There was also the very fact that the universe had collided at that moment, everything in the past happening just for that very moment. The very moment that Ten met Kunhang, where Kunhang’s silky robes had gotten tangled in a nearby starfish, spinning him into the Witch of the Sea. Just the day before, when the candidates for ambassador were receiving their robes. There was the random draw for colours by the candidates a month ago, and a slightly off heavier ball meant Kunhang was given the green robes. A silk weaver had broken up with her girlfriend about a week later, meaning the fabric was woven with the sad kind of tender hands in every weave, purposely making the robes a little longer than the given measurements. A blotch of tears had smeared the paper, and a zero became a six. There was also the pearl collector, who had found the largest and most beautiful pearl ever, placing it neatly onto the front of the robes, making a rather hard object to crash into. Somewhere in the world was also the starfish mother who had urged her children to hurry to the festivities, and a single strand of sunlight had distracted one of the starfishes, causing it to run head first into the robes of one of the candidates. He had been considerate enough to help the starfish on his way, but in his rush to make it to the palace throne room on time, he had turned a corner too fast. There was the sea turtle at that corner, head inside his shell as he waited for the fishes to zoom past. Kunhang had taken that very moment to help the turtle, not noticing the witch in the hallways just next to him. Maybe that was due to the trumpetfish that was knocked off his course, yelping loudly as a shark sped by. As if the ocean had conspired for them to crash into each other, Ten now stands in pain, rubbing his head as Kunhang tries to apologize profusely.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” A voice calls from above. Ten looks up, vaguely recalling a familiar face in the creature standing in front of him. Squinting, Ten scrunches up his nose.

“Who are you?” Ten asks, coming out more harshly than he intended. But to be fair, his head was spinning messes of anglerfishes and dolphins. The stranger blushes at this, clearly flustered.

“Ah! I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Kunhang, representative of the kelpies and a candidate for this decade’s ambassador elections!” Ten gapes at the beaming Kunhang, unable to comprehend how so much sunshine can fit in a body if someone who no doubt has been beaten down by the world. The training journey of an ambassador was far from easy, after all. Nevertheless, Ten can’t help but want to protect this innocent little creature from the world. Shaking off the feeling of fondness of his shoulders for a fair evaluation in the events later, Ten puts on a practiced smile and swims past Kunhang, tail glimmering in the diluted underwater sunlight.

“Come on, let’s head to the meeting. We wouldn’t want to be late for the most important day of your career, right?” The sea witch grins. Kunhang scrambles to catch up, the pair chattering animatedly as they navigate the winding corridors of Atlantis. The schools of sea life is all but gone now, an eerie kind of silence befalling over the palace. Ten barely registers it, all too occupied with the beautiful kelpie in front of him before he heard it.

Or rather, felt it.

“What was that?!” Kunhang yelps, steadying himself as a stampede of sea creatures strom towards them, panic and fear on their faces.

“Whatever it was, we need to find out–and fast!” Ten calls, pulling Kunhang towards the wall and pressing himself against it to avoid the stampede. His eyes flash purple, navigating through the crowd of fish for the best way across. Cursing under his breath after he realized there was no easy way past them, Ten turns to Kunhang.

“On a scale of one to ten, how comfortable are you with sacrificing yourself?” Kunhang looks at him with bewilderment.

“Zero!” Ten grins.

“That’s the spirit," Grabbing the other male’s hand, Ten vaults himself away from the wall and into the current of animals. His eyes flash blue, body shifting into a large shell of a jellyfish and wrapping around Kunhang’s body in a tight hug. He bounces between the sea life, using mossy pillars and walls to move faster when there were not enough large creatures in the vicinity. By the time they arrive at the source of the carnage, Ten feels deserving of a very long nap. Preferably for a month or two. Before Ten even has a chance to voice this, however, Kunhang pulls him down behind a low lying wall rather quickly and rudely.

“Wha–”

“Shh!” Kunhang shushes, eyes peeking just over the wall. Ten frowns, confusion on his face as he pushes himself upwards a little. What was happening that made the kelpie so scared?

The universe collided to start off a chain of events, all towards a goal. Sadly, that goal wasn’t Ten meeting Kunhang.

No, that goal was the rulers of the sea all being forced into chains and carried off. The goal was to delay the Witch of the Sea so that the hellspawns can rise up and seize the entire council of the sea. The goal was for Ten to watch helplessly as the king of the hellspawns kills off the entire host of ambassador candidates, ensuring that the surface world will have no contact with the underwater world from that moment on.

“What do we do?” A whisper creeps next to Ten’s ears. A voice that brings him back to reality, a reassuring beacon of hope in Ten’s dark realization. No, not every candidate was dead.

“We wait, and then we fight back," Ten whispers back. He grabs the kelpie’s hand, squeezing it in an attempt to calm the mortal creature down. His lifeline was so fragile, so easily snappable and so goddamn mortal. Ten grits his teeth, making a promise to himself.

Kunhang was to never ever feel lonely, sad or scared again in his entire lifeline, not if Ten has anything to do about it.

-

“He’s going to break that promise isn’t he?” Jisung whispers. Johnny only sighs next to him.  
“You’re catching on fast, Sungie,"

-

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Ten stops in his tracks. He whirls around, comforting smile on his lips as he pulls Kunhang out from the portal. He takes in the brine filled scent of this part of the sea, listening with an attentive ear for the telltale sign of the patrol sirens. The first creatures to fall under the grasp of the hellspawns, all those years ago. Ten should’ve known the sirens would be guarding the entrance.

“Positive. The deepest cavern in the world to enter the lowest point in one's life," Ten glances at a stray piece of algae, floating out from the crevice of the rocks. Instantly, it bursts into flames, wailing cries of tortured children as a siren gobbles up its voice. What’s left of the algae floats downwards, like an extreme metaphor for life and depression.

“Is there any way we can… uh… not burst into flames?” Kunhang asks, voice shaky and eyes wide. The patrol siren dives downwards, back to its post as Ten grimaces.

“The burning isn’t a problem. A simple protection rune will help with that. Our problem is the sirens. I’ve sent Jungwoo a message to go and stir up some chaos, and that’ll be our chance to sneak in," The sea witch explains. His eyes dart around, trying to get a sight of the siren. Three counts pass when Ten sees a flash of teal scales, eyes widening in shock when Jungwoo ignores the sirens and locks target for the cave. Puzzled, Ten barely registers Jungwoo dive-bombing him in a hug.

“Hyung! I’ve missed you so much!” Jungwoo squeals in delight. Ten chuckles at the siren’s antics, fondness in his heart as he turns to Kunhang. The kelpie’s eyes are darting between Jungwoo and Ten, calculation and confusion in his gaze. Rolling his eyes, Ten simply pulls Jungwoo into a tight hug as he smiles brightly at Kunhang.

“Kunhang, this is Jungwoo, my apprentice," Ten introduces, voice giggly as Jungwoo realizes what’s happening.

“Oh my! Yes! I’m Jungwoo, his apprentice. Not… um… his… significant other," Jungwoo stutters, panicking as Kunhang understands the situation. Ten is all but dying in giggles, body folded in half as Jungwoo’s cheeks turn intensely red.

“I can see that," Kunhang snorts, good-natured laughter echoing off the cave walls. Jungwoo buries his face in his hands, an aura embarrassment around the siren as Ten heaves the last few giggles out of his system.

“Aish. You didn’t detour all the way here to embarrass yourself, Woo. What's up?” Jungwoo bites his lip nervously, a sudden change in his expression from embarrassment to fear causing Ten to worry.

“I stopped by Source on my way here to ask them of the situation. You weren’t exactly detailed in your dream message," Jungwoo tsks, to which Ten stares at him sarcastically.

“I’m the spirit of Reality. If I stayed in the dream for more than a minute I get trapped there. You should know this," Ten points out, to which Jungwoo ignores.

“You said ‘Come over, I need you to be you and flirt with some people’ and expect me to NOT go ask what’s going on?”

A glare.

“Fine,"

A smile.

“In any case, I found out something disturbing," Ten raises an eyebrow, settling himself onto a rock to listen. Jungwoo continues on, a grim expression on his lovely features.

“Doyoung ran a searching spells across the realms and found an unsettling quiet from hell. So Jeno went down to check it out and found the corpses of dead monarchs EVERYWHERE. The Sourcies were trying to find out what was going on and what we found was…” Jungwoo trails off, a certain fear to his eyes. Ten frowns, leaning up to pry as Kunhang holds a hand in front of him. There’s a gentle expression on the kelpie as he glides over to Jungwoo. He pats the siren gently on the back, steadying him as Jungwoo starts clamming up. Ten watches in awe, reminding himself that the boy in front of him isn’t just a fragile doll, but also one of the candidates for the sea’s ambassador. Ten feels a soft kind of admiration for Kunhang at this point, a good kind of surprise as he watches Jungwoo swallow and tries his words again.

“Calmly this time,” Kunhang advises. Jungwoo nods, locking eyes with Ten.

“An invasion is coming. And there’s nothing we can do to stop it," Ten’s face sets in stone as he registers the words.

“An invasion?”

“Of the combined forces of hell and all things evil. First on the supernaturals, then on the humans," Ten hums in acknowledgement, standing up from his seat.

“Then we’ll fight back. Let them feel the wrath of the ocean and air, if the land dwellers can’t be involved," Ten slashes his hands across the air, purple energy crackling in his skin as a portal appears. Kunhang watches him curiously.

“Where are we going?” The kelpie asks. Ten smirks.

“To visit an old friend,"

-

“No…” Jising whispers, fear creeping into his voice. Taeil pulls him into a hug, gently wiping away Jisung’s tears as the young faerie realizes what this means.  
“I’m sorry Sungie. This is what the real world is like,"

-

“What do you want," A growl. Ten fakes surprise, although he’s secretly loving the exchange.

“Yangie, I’m offended. Can’t I visit my two favourite guardians without demanding something?” Yangyang rolls his eyes, leaning back on the couch as his boyfriend simply raises an eyebrow.

“Can you? I’m wondering that myself," Xiaojun deadpans. Over by the pond, Jungwoo and Kunhang both snicker, content with listening in on the conversation. Ten scowls.

“You guys are ridiculous," Yangyang smiles.

“Love you too. Now, why are you here?” Ten sighs. He waves his hands over the flames crackling in the fireplace, manipulating them to create a hellish landscape. Yangyang sucks in a breath.

“I assume you’ve heard the news?” Xiaojun nods, eyes flickering blue at the sight of the growing fire licking the edge of the mantle piece. Concentration. Ten hopes he doesn’t freeze Ten’s ass for this.

“We need to make a weapon, one capable of killing the demon king. If we succeed, we’ll give ourselves enough time to prepare for the war," Ten pauses, searching for any signs of protest. None. He turns back to the flames, twisting them into shapes as he lists out ingredients.

“We need a mortal soul that came in contact with the dead already to chain the demon king to the spirit world, some kind of healing salve powerful enough to overcome the king’s corroding aura, metal from the Chalice of the Faeries to build the sword itself, and imbued magic of a hellspawn to mask the sword’s presence during it’s forging process," Ten finishes, extinguishing the rising flames and turning to Xiaojun and Yangyang. Silence falls over them, broken only as Xiaojun lets out a sigh.

“The first two we can get you, although we need to find a place to keep the resurrected mortal. I suggest putting him in the care of witches. They blend into society well enough, as long as we choose an unimportant soul. The Chalice is somewhere on Source, so that should be easy enough. As for the hell stuff…” Xiaojun trails off, eyes darting to his boyfriend. Yangyang shrugs.

“I’m always up to burn stuff," Xiaojun nods, turning back to Ten.

“…but I’m not convinced the king can stay in the spirit world without them revolting," Xiaojun finishes. Ten groans, realizing the gaping hole in his plan. 

“What do you suggest then?” Silence. The fire crackles passively, blending in with the sound of swaying branches outside. Then, a voice echoes from the pool of water in the middle of the room..

“We could lock him in the dream world," Jungwoo pipes up. Ten scrunches his nose up.

“But it’s an open dimension. If we were to theoretically chain him there, we’d need to steal the dreams of some poor mortal, lock him up and then send someone to make sure he stays locked up. Someone who isn’t capable of returning to the real world, so the demon king can’t… return…” Ten’s eyes glint with realization. Kunhang hisses.

“No. Don’t even think of it," Ten raises his eyebrow.

“We’re both immortal. No one will ever die. An eternal battle, except no casualties will arise," Kunhang shakes his head with vigour.

“You don’t deserve that," The kelpie argues. Ten scowls.

“I do what I want,"

“Sorry to interrupt, but we could just not fight anyone?” Jungwoo squeaks. Ten turns to him, confused.

“How?” He asks, to which Jungwoo smiles.

“As long as I can bind the dimension down, we could enchant the sword to fight by itself. There would only need to be someone to stay there forever to watch the battle in case the seal slips," Jungwoo explains. Ten considers the words.

“I’ll do it," He offers. Kunhang gapes, unable to argue with that point. Silently, he pushes out his bottom lip and drops himself back into the pool.

“Won’t you get lonely?” Ten shrugs. He notices Yangyang and Xiaojun out of the corner of his eyes, watching this exchange with the kind of interest the other Sourcies have when Mark and Donghyuck argues. Jungwoo has retreated into the pool, afraid an argument might break out. Sighing, Ten resigns to the couch.

“What do you suggest then?” Ten asks, voice small. Kunhang bites his lip and pops out of the pool.

“I’ll come with you," Ten widens his eyes. 

“No! You deserve a full, mortal life with real people!” Kunhang scoffs.

“And you aren’t real? The spirit of Reality and all?” Ten fumes.

“No," Kunhang rolls his eyes.

“I do what I want," The kelpie echoes. The sea witch growls, low in his throat as he turns away.

“Do what you want then, but you’re not coming with me,"

-

“They’re not actually… gone, right?” Jisung squeaks, voice breaking. Taeil gently pets his hair, hands caressing his cheeks as Johnny hands him a cookie. Jisung munches on it quietly, attention redrawn to the butterfly home cinema.

“Please," He pleads, faerie hands shaking with tears.

-

To no one’s surprise, Ten lost that argument.

The dreamworld is blank, a landscape of white on white. It’s a serene kind of calm, vast blankness that stretches on forever. Ten wonders if the dreamworld will change with thought, depending on the mortal soul’s dream. They had decided it was for the best, giving a dying soul immortality and a dreamless life in exchange for this powerful prison. Ten’s last spell had been spent on setting a repeating memory spell on that soul, so it could live lifetimes in just one. Jungwoo had seemed rather sad at the lack of colour in that soul’s dream, wondering if they could even make a suitable prison out of it, but Ten had been adamant about choosing a soul that was dreamless over one with too many. Less complications in their gatekeeping duties, he justified.

“And to think I’ll be here for the next few eternities or so,” Ten muses, scanning his environment for anything remotely interesting. A chuckle draws out behind him, and Ten feels a weight lie onto his shoulder. He glances back, mind still amazed at how different horse-form Kunhang and human-form Kunhang looks. Cute, his brain supplies, and Ten feels his cheek heat up for the millionth time since they locked themselves into the dream.

“It isn’t that bad. After they lock him up we’re free to decorate,” Kunhang reassures, turning around to drop his head on Ten’s lap.. Ten can’t help but snort at that, although his traitor of a brain brings his hand up to card through the kelpie’s hair, feeling soft strand under his fingers.

“And what are we to do while we wait?” Ten questions, although his heart hopes for a certain answer. Kunhang grins at him.

“I have an eternity here. Might as well get familiar with my cellmate.”

Silence.

A good silence.

Ten rather liked this kind of silence.

“You didn’t have to come here, y’know?” Ten whispers, breaking their moment of nothingness.

“Who could ever have the heart to leave such a pretty face alone for so long,” Kunhang teases back. Ten raises an eyebrow.

“There’s implications in that.”

“Then it’s done its job.”

“Won’t you miss the others?”

“I’ll miss the others, but time heals all wounds.”

A bitter laugh. Ten’s eyes droop in sympathy, reminded of the centuries he has over the younger boy.

“That’s not necessarily true.”

-

“Do you miss them?” A soft voice calls out, breaking a silence. Jisung turns his head around to find Johnny holding Taeil’s head on his chest, carding through the strands as they stare at the remnants of the projection. It’s just the three of them, sitting in this dimension of purple and black, giving Jisung a strong sense of how eerily familiar this is to the scene he just watched play out in front of him. There’s a pang of recognition in his heart as it dawns on him that Taeil and Johnny weren’t going to be here forever either, even though they were all technically immortal. Immortals don’t die, Doyoung had explained to him, they fade into obscurity when their magic runs out. At that point, all that holds them between the balance of Reality and the Spirit world is memory, keeping them in the Dream world. Jisung wonders if human souls are like that too, and how he knows he can’t be allowed to forget about all the people he’s only known for such a short time. A family he never had, in more ways than not.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss Tennie and his stupid practical jokes. But they chose to go,” Taeil replies, voice small as he waves the room of butterflies back to normal. Johnny squeezed him tighter, simultaneously holding Jisung close too.  
“At least he had a choice.”


End file.
